The National cyclopedia of the colored race;

University of California • Berkeley

THE THOMAS J. READY JR. FAMILY FUND

JOtattonal Cpclopebta

of

Coloretr

Editor-in-Chief

CLEMENT RICHARDSON

President of Lincoln Institute
Jefferson City, Mo.

ASSOCIATE EDITORS

Dr. C. V. ROMAN, Nashville, Tenn.

Professor of Meharry Medical College.

W. T. B. WILLIAMS, Hampton Institute, Va.

Field Agent of the Jeannes and Slater Funds.

II. M. MINTON, M. D., Philadelphia, Pa.
Board of Directors Mercy Hospital.

SILAS X. FLOYD, Augusta, Ga.
Principal of City Schools.

DR. R. E. JONES, New Orleans, La.

Editor of South Western Christian Advocate.

DR. A. F. OWENS, Selma, Ala.

Dean of Theological Dept. Selma University.

FRED MOORE, New York City.
Editor New York Age.

ADVISORY BOARD

EMMETT J. SCOTT, Chairman,

Secretary of Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegce

Institute, Ala.

N. B. YOUNG, Tallahassee, Fla.
President of A. and M. College.

DR. J. W. E. BOWEN, Atlanta, Ga.

Dean of Gammon Theological Seminary.

J. R. E. LEE, Kansas City, Mo.

Principal of Lincoln High School.

J. S. CLARK, Baton Route, La.

President of Southern University.

DR. M. W. DOGAN, Marshall, Texas.
President of Wiley University.

Volume One

NATIONAL PUBLISHING COMPANY, Inc.

PUBLISHERS

MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA
1919

COPYRIGHT 1919

NATIONAL PUBLISHING CO., Inc.

MONTGOMERY, ALA.

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BOOKER TALIAFERRO WASHINGTON, M. A. LL. D.

Foreword

OR the past 20 yearn Negroes have been coming to the front so
rapidly that to list all whose names should appear in a work of
this kind would, I know, be impossible. As it is true of names
and biographies, so is it true of the general data concerning the Negro
race. Almost daily something happens or some new development in
the race records itself as monumental and historical. All of this, I
know the Editors cannot record; yet I am thoroughly convinced, from
what I have seen of the Cyclopedia of the Colored Race, that this
book will be of inestimable good to both the white people and the black
people of America.

It will be of service to the white people because it is the one work
which gives a comprehensive knowledge of the Negro race, past and
present.

It will be of great service to the Negro for two reasons. In the
first place it will be an advocate pleading his cause by setting forth
his achievements under the most trying circumstances. It will show
to the world that the American Negro is worthy not only of what he
has achieved, but of an open door to much greater achievements and
much kindlier treatment.

In the second place it will teach the Negro more about himself.
No Race, white or black, can get very far as a race or as individuals
without a goodly amount of self-respect and -race pride. Every
biography, the story of every kind of property ownership, of a bank
or store, owned and operated properly, will be a source of great inspi
ration to Negroes old and young. Were there no other reason, this
one of valuable racial inspiration would more than justify the hard
labor and careful thought that the publishers and editors have put
into this work.

Finally the public can rely upon the honesty and integrity of the
men whose names appear as editors of the Cyclopedia. Here and
there these men may err in fact, but in principle I do not believe there
is a man on the list who can be doubted. I know all of them per
sonally, a good many of them intimately. The editor in chief, Mr.
Clement Richardson, his chief advisor Mr. E. J. Scott, Mr. J. R. E.
Lee, Mr. N. B. Young, are all men who have rendered years of most
valuable services on the staff at Tuskegee Institute.

I commend this book highly to all Americans, with the hope that
a perusal of it will bring a better understanding and a warmer spirit
of friendship and inspiration, to both races.

Principal Tuskegee Institute

PREFACE

Cyclopedia of the Negro race
should, it seems to me, have
two purposes — to inform and
to inspire. The ordinary work
of the kind has merely the task
to inform. The inspiration
story, the tale of struggle and achievement, is
attended to by the daily paper, the magazine,
the technical journal and the photographer.
Hut the only sure hope that the black Ameri
can can entertain for immediate notice comes
through committing crime. The black man
who assails a hen roost, one who perpetrates a
blind tiger or commits even more revolting
crimes is pretty certain of a big headline and
several pages in the daily news, while he who
pays his taxes, supports his family and lays
away a few shekels or invests in land, houses
or brain power, passes on unheralded.

Let the task of this work be to inform of
the good deeds. Rapidly the Negro himself is
casting out the discriminating hook, with the
label, "Who is he?" written in pretty bold let
ters. Good deeds, a life of service, have come
to be a passport required among groups of col
ored Americans as well as among groups of
other people.

We have still also our weakness toward
education. We like the diploma on the wall,
the cap and gown, the enriching memories of
college days. He, therefore, who would make
his place in various groups must carry the
stamp of merit in cultivation of intellect, in the
acquisition of wealth, in deeds of good for the
betterment of his people.

Therein does the Clyclopedia hope to fill
what assuredly appears to be a crying need.
Negroes over the country do not know one an
other, neither do the white Americans know
what their darker countrymen are doing to
make a stronger and nobler race and to make
of all wholesome citizens.

As a rule, however, we cannot accomplish
the end of this undertaking by cataloging a
few dry, abstract facts. Thus to set down
"John Smith, born 1884, proprietor of a drug
store, candidate for Grand Secretary of K.
P." and so on, would not, though thoroughly
informing, give all that we want the Negro
school boy and the Negro school girl to find

A\ hen they go to search for our names in the
Cyclopedia. We want them to look there,
both young and old, to find a brief succinct
story, — one that while it informs, gives some
measure of the man, some measure of the char
acter he developed while becoming the pro
prietor of a drug store, or candidate for Grand
Secretary. Here is the editor of a Negro pa
per. How did he get his education in gen
eral? How did he get his particular training
for the craft? How many nights, as Horace
Greely put it, did he "sleep on paper and eat
ink" — or support his family on unpaid sub
scriptions? In other words, we want the Ne
gro boy to feel inspired, to come away with a
thrill: we want the older Negro to feel that
he is among a great galaxy of black folk, great
because of character, of education, of good
ness.

Thanks to the breaking of a new day, we
now have a great many friends who are gen
uinely interested in our progress. They want
to see what the black folks have done; to see
the fruit of their labor on the one hand and to
uphold the black man's cause to those who still
doubt, or who alas ! simply do not know.

As we feel about the person so we feel about
the organization, the institution. Here is a
big Negro church whose night classes, rest
rooms and the like owe their existence to the
poor mothers who sweat over the wash tub: A
Negro school whose first master likely as not
taught in the rain, or waded through water
and mud to reach his classes. Here again ic
a Negro bank, whose first president begged
deposits from door to door: A big Negro far
mer and land owner, who once grubbed his
soil or chopped wood by the light of a pine
torch: a Negro publisher who once was class
ed a little above a tramp: A Negro insurance
man, who was once a cook: A big Negro physi
cian who came from the farm or from the
ranks of the hotel waiters. It is this we would
chronicle, not of course that it may be known
merely, but that there may be more and bet
ter banks, holier churches, finer schools, big
ger farmers, a larger number forging forward
from the ranks typifying the best in the race.

To have undertaken a task of this kind was,
in the eyes of many, to pursue a course of rash-

ness, if not madness. The territory, it was
th.mght, was far too wide. The task of se
lecting and rejecting was too nice and too haz
ardous. To do even a reasonable amount of
justice to all deserving persons was impossible.
And so why risk so much?

Now, the remarkable feature of all this is,
that those who made these objections were cor
rect. Indeed, each point in itself is sufficient
to retard one from undertaking the task. Yet,
there was, and is, at least an equal weight on
the side that here is an opportunity to render
good service, service of help on the one hand
and of enlightenment on the other. To sit by
and let slip so fair an occasion merely because
of fear per se, or because of fear of failure
seemed as criminal as to try and even fail.

The men whose lives are here sketched, the
Institutions and Organizations here represent
ed, by no means exhaust the list. In fact, sume
of the most thrilling tales of struggle and con
quest of both men and Organizations are, for
one reason or another, not here at all. It is
doubtful, in many instances, if they can be se
cured. Indifference to fame, a shrinking
from publicity, intense engagement in one kind
of work or another, all conspire to with-hold
the desired information from the public.

The Editor has drawn freely from the wj-it-
ings of others. Just what particular work he
is most indebted to, he is at a loss to say. He
has consulted most printed matter on Negroes.
He is therefore grateful to Negro Magazine
Editors, Negro News Paper Editors, and to
all Authors of books bearing on Negro people.
If there has been any purloining, such has not
been done through any wish to arrogate knowl
edge or talent, but with the full desire, border
ing, it is hoped, upon enthusiasm, to send
abroad the good news and glad tidings that the
people for whom so many good tempers have

been spoiled, and for whom so much blood has
been shed, are not being redeemed in vain.

One of the happiest phases of the endeavor,
both to the publishers and to the Editor, has
been the quick and hearty response accorded
by the leading Negroes and those White peo
ple interested in Negroes throughout the
country. This was particularly true of pro
fessional and thinking men of the race;
of the Ministers, of the Doctors, of the
Editors, and of up-lift workers. So numerous
are these that to name them is impossible.
Again, the leading schools for Negroes, wheth
er in the hands of Colored people or White,
have given an encouragement, without which
the work could hardly have progressed. Tus-
kegee, Fisk, Spelman, and scores of other sach
Institutions gave their backing in every sense
un reservedly.

Two men must be spoken of, else this Cy
clopedia had not been — Dr. R. R. Moton and
Hon. Emett J. Scott. The former was com
ing into the principalship of Tuskegee Insti
tute at the inception of this work. Without
question, without hesitation, he not only gave
his endorsement, but took the occasion when
ever approached to commend the undertaking,
an act wholly in keeping with the known gen
erous traits of Dr. Moton. Upon the latter
should have devolved the editing of this work.
While he occupies the place of Chairman of
the Advisory Board, Mr. Scott is, as a matter
of fact, in many ways the Cyclopedia's spon
sor. His exceeding wide contact, his host of
warm personal friends everywhere, made for
the Editor and the Publishers a rose covered
path, which might otherwise have been one
strewn with gravel, if not with thorns.
CLEMENT RICHARDSON,

Lincoln Institute,
Jefferson Citv, Mo., Nov. loth, 1918.

Booker Taliaferro Washington, M. A. LL. D.

OOKER T. WASHINGTON, a
model of efficiency, was born
a slave — but he lived to absorb
so much of the white man's
civilization that he taught not
only Negroes by a new method,
but had his method adopted by white men
as well. Dr. Washington attended Hampton
Institute, earning his way as he went. In
deed all that Dr. Washington had as a start for
his most remarkable career, was a determination
to better himself and his people. He lived to
found and serve till it was fully established with
no possible chance of failure, the largest institution
for Negroes in the world — Tuskegee Institute.
This school has become a model for schools in all
parts of the world. Dr. Washington also founded
the National Negro Business League, The Inter
national Race Congress, and was instrumental in
the founding of the Southern Education Board.

He was honored by Harvard University with the
degree of Master of Arts and was given the degree
of LL. D. by Dartmouth. In addition to these he
was given honary degrees by a number of the
leading Eastern and Southern Colleges. This was
done as a recognition of his work. Dr. Washing
ton never ceased to study, he studied at home, on
the trains, on the long trips through the country.
He was as close a student of books as he was of
men. His judgments of men and things are brought
out clearly in the many books and periodicals of
which he is the author.

Booker T. Washington who died at his home
early Sunday morning, Nov. 14, 1915, was a big
man out in the world ; he was a bigger man at
home among his teachers. The world knew him for
his eloquence, his homely wit, his tact, his shrewd
diplomacy. We knew him at home for his broad
sympathies, for his kindness, his attention to little
things, his infinite power of planning and work
ing. His two last acts, one abroad and one at
home, are strikingly significant of his balanced
life. His last act before the world was to make a
journey to deliver an address. His last act at home
was to repair an old board fence which he had un
wittingly ordered torn down.

At home or abroad he was never too big for even
the humblest man to approach. Indeed he had a
sort of craze for bringing together the rude illit
erate and the more cultivated members of his race.
He liked to assemble the rude black farmer, the
school teacher, the lawyer and the business man.
He had a fondness for stopping the half illiterate
preacher, for getting such in his office and looking
into their minds. An oldtime mamniv, or an old, old

Negro farmer in his audiences seemed to inspire
him more than the richest and most distinguished.
He always rushed, as it were, into the arms of such
at. the closing of his big meetings. Probably no
single organization with which he ever had connec
tion gave him quite the genuine satisfaction he got
from the Annual Farmers' Conference. He de
lighted to banter these old fellows, to listen to
their rude speeches and homely sayings. Many of
his own stories and anecdotes sprang out of these
meetings.

But he was no mere stag acquaintance. He wel
comed all such to his fireside, to his office, his pre
cious time, his helping hand, the mother protesting
that her child did not make a class high enough,
the student smarting under some misunderstanding
with a teacher, the white banker or white farmer
wishing to transact business — all had free access
to him. To be sure he kept a closed office, but this
was to gain dispatch, not to exclude. It was no
uncommon sight to find a vagrant Negro preacher,
a distinguished visitor, a Negro farmer, a teacher
or two, and a few students all waiting to see him.
. Reports say that the doctors wondered how he
lived so long. The more is the marvel when one
thinks of the burdens he bore. Having to raise
thousands of dollars to provide food, heat, com
fortable lodgings for 1500 students, he neverthe
less kept his finger on the smallest details. Now he
was dictating a letter asking for funds, the next
moment he would be summoning a workman or
dictating a note about the weeds in a plot of
ground, about a hedge, or a broken window pane.
One moment he would be dictating a speech for
some national occasion, the next he would be ad
vising a means of disposing of "old Mollie," one
of the cows of the dairy herd, or "old Phil," a lame
mule. So it was with the eggs and chickens from
the poultry yard, the sweU potatoes, the peaches,
the corn, oats, pigs, the power plant, the lighting
system, the way a new teacher was conducting a
class in arithmetic or grammar. And this thing
he kept up from day to day, whether he was in
New York or Alabama. I myself have again and
again, during the seven years in which I have had
charge of the English work at Tuskegee Institute
gotten notes making suggestions about a paragraph
or a sentence in some student's talk or commence
ment address.

There was only one way under the sun he could
do this. He regulated his life to the very second.
He husbanded time most miserly, though he was
prodigal with his energies. He had breakfasted
and was out on horseback by 7:30 (he fancied the
big iron gray pacer). His hour's ride was in a

Sense recreative ; in another sense, it was work :
for he inspected the farm, the orchard, the shops,
the school's supplies, taking notes and giving di
rection. If he rode out into the country, he usually
returned with suggestions about a torn-off blind
on a Negro church or the neglected garden of a
Negro schoolhouse. All the time he was stopping
teachers and workmen by the way, giving them
new tasks, requesting them to come to his office
at a certain hour.

By half past eight he was in his office. For a
certain time he read and dictated letters. In the
meantime the office boys were flying over the
grounds and ringing the telephone bells, summon
ing Council members, the heads of departments, to
a committee meeting, a meeting on the budget, on
Commencement, on a new building, on the actions
of a student or a teacher. Up to the last second
he would keep his mind fixed on his reading or
correspondence. He then took up the business in
hand, dispensed with it and went back to an article
on teaching or on Negro homes or Negro business.
If he was slated to make a trip in a buggy or car
he kept his work until the clock was on the second.
Then he stepped into the conveyance and was gone.
Woe unto him who brought a slow vehicle. Even
so he would be at work. Between one stop and
another on a speaking tour he would sketch a half
dozen plans— for articles, for grading a lawn, for
remodeling a building, for rendering somebody a
service. Always and everywhere his plans incul
cated this— to serve somebody, to make somebody
happier. It might be by giving a body something ;
it was most often by giving one something to do.

This having things to hand, which to some minds,
might appear at times extravagant was the very
essence of his efficiency, as it is of any man's effi
ciency. The change of clothing was usually ready
to hand. He had push bells and telephones in his
office, and push bells and telephones in his study
at home. Wherever and whenever he went about
the grounds an office boy, sometimes a stenograph
er, followed at his elbow to summon a workman or
to take down a note on some weak point in work
manship. His pet diversion was hunting. In the
fall he would frequently steal an hour and run out
to the woods. To save time he kept a hunting out
fit, gun cartridges, etc., at his home and one at
the work place of the young man who usually ac
companied him, so that whenever the hunting time
came he would not loose an hour in getting ready.
To some this would be extravagance. To one
whose time is precious it is the highest economy.

With this practice of having things to hand he
coupled the habit of doing the thing then. His key
word was "AT ONCE." Alas! how often Tus-
kegee teachers have seen that notice: Mr -
will see the Principal "at once." The enr;-igemen1

might not last one third the time it required you
to walk to the office ; but he attended to *he thing
there. The errand boy gets the workman there.
The stenographer took down the note on the spot.
He went hunting then; he mr.de his address then;
he signed his letters then. Each minute in i.he
day seemed to have been for him an individual par
ticle, to be dealt with and settled by the time the
next one ticked around. For the last year or so
he pushed this habit to the extreme, calling for
teachers, workmen, council members, who were
the advisory board, at midnight, at daybreak, at
the meal hour. Several times Mrs. Washington
protested, seeking to restrain him. With the genius
of premonition he would exclaim, "Let me alone.
Let me do it now. I don't know where I'll be to
morrow."

Some local joker tells this story which, though
likely enough untrue, illustrates this habit of at
tending to one thing at the moment. One after
noon in the fall while stealing his hour's hunt he
chanced to cross a part of the school's farm in order
to reach the woods. The name of the Director of
the farming industries is Bridgeforth, that of the
young man who went hunting with Dr. Washing
ton, Foster. Just as the Tuskegean and Foster en
tered the woods, a squirrel leaped from the ground
and went scrambling up a tree. Quick as a spark
Dr. Washington leveled his gun. At the same mo
ment some thought about improving the farm ev
idently flashed across his mind. Relaxing his gun
the slightest bit, he turned to the young man and
said:

"Foster, get me Mr. Bridgeforth at once."

Probably few Americans, white or black, have
had a higher sense of duty than Booker T. Wash
ington. It mattered little who imposed the task
or whether it was great or small, the thing was
promised and must be done. Many of us here at
Tuskegee feel that nothing but this sense of duty
backed by a tremendous will, has kept him alive
for the last few years. A year or so ago we were
holding our Annual Armstrong Memorial exercises.
Dr. Washington had said that he would speak at
this exercise, as he always did when he was at
home. Early in the afternoon of the appointed
day he fell ill with a throbbing headache and his
stomach in a turmoil. The doctor put him to bed
and ordered him to remain there. At eight o'clock
that night he appeared and made his address,
though he collapsed in the ante-room immediately
afterwards.

Finally, just as he willed to do, to hold on, he
could will to let go.

He was great in big things and in little things;
great in the world and at home ; but he was great
est in the assertion of his tremendous will.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS

REDERICK DOUGLASS, Orator
and Statesman, born a slave, rose
to be one of the great men of his
day. whose name will live in
American history. He was born
in Maryland, February 14. 1817.
Mis name at first was Frederick Augustus Wash
ington Baily ; he changed it, being hunted as a fu
gitive slave, to Douglass. He chose Douglass be
cause of his facination for this character as por
trayed by Sir Walter Scott, a character which the
ex-slave in his grand manner much resembled.

In his childhood he saw little of his mother, noth
ing of his father. The mother worked on a planta
tion twelve miles from her son and could only see
him by making the journey on foot and after work
time. Whatever training the boy received up to
the age of eight, he received it from his grand
mother.

At the age of eight years he was put under Aunt
Katy, who was cruel, often depriving the little fel
low of food. On one occasion he went to bed so
hungry that when all the household were asleep
he rose and began to parch and eat corn. In the
midst of the corn-parching, his mother came in,

bringing a ginger cake, which made him feel that
he was "somebody's child." This was the last time
he saw his mother.

Douglass was sent to Baltimore, where after a
time he learned to read, being taught by his new
mistress, Mrs. Auld. When the master discovered
what the mistress had done, he set a watch over
Douglass lest he should escape. This he finally did,
though he was long sought after and had one time
to go to England to avoid capture. He was finally
bought and set free.

He gave his life as a freedman to liberating his
brethren and to improving the ex-slave condition
after freedom came. He served during his life
time as United States Marshall in the District of
Columbia, as Recorder of Deeds in the District of
Columbia, and as Consul General to the Republic
of Hayti. He was the first Negro to hold these
offices. He was much traveled and was admired as
an orator and as a man wherever he went.

A few of the sayings of Douglass follow:

"Emancipation has liberated the land as well as
the people."

"Neither the slave nor his master can abandon all
at once the deeply entrenched errors and habits of
centuries."

"There is no work that men are required to do,
which they cannot better and more economically
do with education than without it."

"Muscle is mighty but mind is mightier, and
there is no field for the exercise of mind other than
is found in the cultivation of the soul."

"As a race we have suffered from two very op
posite causes, disparagement on the one hand and
undue praise on the other."

"An important question to be answered by evi
dence of our progress is: Whether the black man
will prove a better master to himself than the white
man was to him."

"Accumulate property. This may sound to you
like a new gospel. No people can ever make any
social and mental improvement whose exertions are
limited. Poverty is our greatest calamity — On the
other hand, property, money, if you please, will pro
duce for us the only condition upon which any peo
ple can rise to the dignity of genuine manhood."

"Without property there can be no leisure. With
out leisure there can be no invention, without in
vention there can be no progress."

"We can work and by this means we can retrieve
all our losses."

"Knowledge, wisdom, culture, refinement, man
ners, are all founded on work and the wealth which
work brings."

"In nine cases out of ten a man's condition is
worse by changing his location. You would better
endeavor to remove the evil from your door than
to move and leave it there."

Alexander Dumas, Novelist and Play-wright

HACKERY, the English Novelist,
called Dumas "Alexander the
Great." Like Alexander Pushkin
of Russia, the great French ro
mancer is the third descent from
a Negro, only in this instance
the line begins with the grandmother rather than
the grandfather. Dumas' grandfather, who was a
marquis, married a Creole of Haiti. The author's
father was a dark giant of a man ; one of the heroic
generals of the army of Napoleon.

The general married the daughter of an inn
keeper. From this union the novelist was born in
1802. The father died while the son was four
years old. Having but small means, Alexander
soon found himself in Paris seeking his fortune.
For a time he attached himself to the Duke of Or
leans as clerk. Like Voltaire, Hugo and many
other French men of letters, Dumas sought to make
his way as a play-wright. In this he succeeded
modestly, having presented successfully, Henry III,
Tower of Nelse and several other plays. But Du
mas' claim to fame, a claim which he holds undis-
putably, rests upon his romances, "The three Mus-
kateers," "The Count of Monte Cristo," "Twenty
Years After," and scores of others. The critics call
him, "Capriceius prolix, fertile puissant," as having
a "rare mind, rare attention, subtle spirit, quick
comprehension."

The following is taken from his writings :

FATALITY.

Scarcely had D'Artagnan uttered these words
than a ringing and sudden noise was heard resound
ing through the felucca, which now became dim in
the obscurity of the night.

"That, you may be sure," said the Gascon, "means
something."

They then, at the same instant, perceived a
large lantern carried on a pole appear on the deck,
denning the forms of shadows behind it.

Suddenly a terrible cry, a cry of dispair, was
wafted through the space, and as if the shrieks of
anguish had driven away the clouds, the veil which
hid the moon was cleared away, and the gray sails
and dark shrouds of the felucca were plainly visi
ble beneath the silvery light.

Shadows ran, as if bewildered, to and fro on the
vessel, and mournful cries accompanied these delir
ious walkers. In the midst of these screams they
saw Mordaunt upon the poop, with a torch in
hand.

The agitated figures, apparently wild with terror,

consisted of Groslow, who, at the hour fixed by
Mordaunt, had collected his men, and the sailors.
Groslow, after having listened at the door of the
cabin to hear if the musketeers were still asleep,
had gone down into the cellar, convinced by their
silence that they were all in a deep slumber. Then
Mordaunt had run to the train — impetuous as a
man who is excited by revenge and full of confi
dence — as are those whom God blinds — he had set
fire to the wick of niter.

All this while, Groslow and his men were assem
bled on the deck.

"Haul up the cable, and draw the boat to us,"
said Groslow.

One of the sailors got down the side of the ship,
seized the cable, and drew it — it came without the
least resistance.

"The cable is cut!" he cried, "no boat!"

"How! no boat!" exclaimed Groslow; "it is im
possible."

" 'Tis true, however," answered the sailor ;
"there's nothing in the wake of the ship, besides
here's the end of the cable."

"What's the matter?" cried Mordaunt, who is
coming up out of the hatchway, rushed to the
stern, waving his torch.

"Only that our enemies have escaped — they have
cut the cord, and gone off with the boat."

Mordaunt bounded with one step to the cabin,
and kicked open the door.

"Empty!" he exclaimed; "the infernal demons!"

"We must pursue them," said Groslow ; "they
can't be gone far, and we will sink them, passing
over them."

"Yes, but the fire," ejaculated Mordaunt; "I have
lighted it."

"Ten thousand devils !" cried Groslow, rushing to
the hatchway ; "perhaps there is still time to save
us."

Mordaunt answered only by a terrible laugh,
threw his torch into the sea, and plunged in after
it. The instant Groslow put his foot upon the
hatchway steps, the ship opened like the crater of
a volcano. A burst of flames rose toward the skies
with an explosion like that of a hundred cannon ;
the air burned, ignited by flaming embers, then the
frightful lightning disappeared, the brands sank,
one after another, into the abyss, where they were
extinguished, and, save for a slight vibration in the
air, after a few minutes had lapsed, one would have
thought that nothing had happened.

Only — the felucca had disappeared from the sur
face of the sea. and Groslow and his three sailors
were consumed.

10

Alexander Pushkin, Father of Russian Poetry

LEXANDER PUSHKIN is called
the "Russian Byron," "demigod
of Russian Verse," "father of
Russian poetry," "the laureate of
Czar Nicholas." The Pushkins
had long been about the rulers of
Russia as cited by Alexander in "My Pedigree."
The first of the line the grandfather of the poet
was an Abyssinian, who was stolen as a slave from
Constantinople. The grandsire was not only
adopted by Peter the Great, but given a title of
nobility and rank of General.

The poet was proud of his African blood, which
asserted itself unmistablv in the curl of his hair

and the shape of his lips. He regarded himself as
a drop of African blood on Arctic soil. He was
born in 1799. During his childhood an old nurse be
guiled him with many legends and fables of Rus
sia. When he was twenty these legends brought
forth fruit in his first great poem, "Ruslan and
Liudmila." His democratic ideas, which encouched
in an "Ode to Liberty," soon made him an exile
from home and from Czar Nicholas I. However,
the Czar loved the poet and speedily pardoned him.
He died quite young, having written not only poet
ry that survives, but many prose tales. It is said
that every youth in Russia knows his poetry by
heart.

MY PEDEGREE.
IV. 66.

With scorning laughter at a fellow writer,
In a chorus the Russian scribes
With name of aristocrat me chide :
Just look, if please you. . . nonsense what!
Court Coachman not I, nor assessor,
Nor am I nobleman by cross ;
No academician, nor proffer,
I'm simply of Russiana citizen.

When treason conquered was and falsehood,

And the rage of storms of war,

When the Romanoffs upon the throne

The nation called by its Chart—

We upon it laid our hands ;

The martyr's son then favored us ;

Time was, our race was prized,

But I . . am but a citizen obscure.

Well I know the times' corruption,
And surely, not gain say it shall I :
Our nobility but recent is :
The more recent it, the more noble
But of humble races a chip,
And, God be thanked, not alone
Of ancient Lords am scion I ;
Citizen I am, a citizen !

'tis.

Our stubborn spirit us tricks has played

Most irrepressible of his race,

With Peter my sire could not get on ;

And for this was hung by him.

Let his example a lesson be ;

Not contradiction loves a ruler,

Not all can be Prince Dolgorukys,

Happy only is the simple citizen.

Not in cakes my grandsire traded,
Not a prince was newly-baked he ;
Not at church sang he in choir,
Nor polished he the boots of Tsar ;
Was not escaped a soldier he
From the German powdered ranks ;
How then aristocrat am I to be?
God be thanked, I am but a citizen.

My grandfather, when the rebels rose

In the palace of Peterhof,

Like Munich, faithful he remained

To the fallen Peter Third ;

To honor came then the Orloffs,

But my sire into fortress, prison, —

Quiet now was our stern race,

And I was born merely — citizen.

My grandsire Radshaa in warlike service
To Alexander Nefsky was attached,
The Crowned Wrathful, Fourth Ivan,
Mis descendents in his ire had spared.
About the Tsars the Pushkins moved;
And more than one acquired renoun,
When against the poles battling was
Of Nizhny Novgorod the citizen plain.

Beneath my crested seal
The roll of family charts I've kept ;
Not running after magnates new,
My pride of blood I have subdued ;
I'm but an unknown singer
Simply Pushkin, not Moussin,
My strength is mine, not from court:
I am a writer, a citizen.

11

PAUL LAWRENCE DUNBAR

AUL LAWRENCE DUNBAR,
Poet, is well known, as ought to
be, to all Negroes. His songs in
Jialect and in plain English are
known and quoted by all English
speaking people. Many of the
pieces have been set to music and are sung with
remarkable pathos. "Poor Li'l Lamb," and "Seen
Mali Lady Home Las' Night," to quote two of the
well known songs, are applauded by all grades of
audiences throughout the land.

Paul Lawrence Dunbar was born in Dayton, Ohio,
in 1872. He was named Paul after the famous apos
tle in the scripture and Lawrence after a friend of
his parents. The poet is said to have written his
first verse when he was seven years old. Paul was
a very bashful boy, but he had courage enough to
take his poems to his teacher, who encouraged him.
His favorite studies were, grammar, spelling and
literature. He edited the High School Times, a
monthly school paper in the Steel High School of
Dayton, where Dunbar was a pupil and from which
he was graduated with honors in 1891.

Dunbar went out from school to earn his bread

as best he may. His father had died, the support of
home therefore fell on the boy, who was none too
sound in health. He had aided his mother with the
washing and had done such odd jobs as he could
find. All he could find as a graduate from the High
School was the part as elevator boy in the Callahan
Building of Dayton. But he made the best of it,
using every spare moment to study or to write.

He soon triumphed over his hardships, publishing
his poems in the best magazines of the country, ap
pearing before the most select audiences both in
this country and in England and numbering among
his friends such persons as James Whitcomb Riley,
William Dean Howell, John Hay, William McKin-
ley, Theodore Roosevelt, R. R. Moton, and Book
er T. Washington.

The following are favorite lines :

LITTLE BROWN BABY

Little brown baby wif spa'kliif eyes,

Come to yo' pappy an' set on his knee
What you been doin' suh — makin' san.' pies?

Look at dat bib — you's ez du'ty ez me.
Look at dat mouf — dat's merlasses, I bet ;

Come hyeah, Maria, an' wipe off his han's.
Bees gwine to ketch you an' eat you up yit,

Bein' so sticky an' sweet — goodness lan's !

Little brown baby wif sparkin' eyes,

Who's papyy's darlin' an' who's pappy's chile?
Who is it all de day nevah once tries

Fu' to be cross, er once looses dat smile?
Whah did you git dem teef? My you's a scamp!

Wah did dat dimple come f 'om in yo' chin ?
Pappy do'n know yo' — I b'lieves you's a tramp ;

Mammy, dis hyeah's some ol' straggler got in !

Let's th'ow him outen de do' in de san',

We don' want stragglers a-layin' 'round hyeah ;
Let's gin him 'way to de big buggah-man ;

I know he's hidin' erroun' hyeah right neah.
Buggah-man, buggah-man, come in de do',

Hyeah's a bad boy you kin have fu' to eat.
Mammy an' pappy don' want him no mo',

Swaller him down f'om his haid to his feet !

Dah, now, I t'ought dat you'd hug me up close,

Go back, buggah, you shan't have dis boy.
He ain't no tramp ner no straggler, of co'se ;

He's pappy's pa'dner an' playmate an' joy.
Come to yo' pallet now — go to yo' res';

Wisht you could allus know ease and cleah skies ;
VVisht you could stay jes' a chile on my breas'—

Little brown baby wif spa'klin eyes!

— Paul Lawrence Dunbar.

12

Sojbuner Truth, Emancipation Lecturer

HE NEGRO RACE has developed
some unique characters who stand
out conspicuous in their line of
endeavor. Not the least among1
these is Sojourner Truth a wo
man -of considerable native ability
though an illiterate.

She was born a slave in Ulser County, N. Y.,
about the year 1775 and died in Battle Creek, Mich
igan, Nov. 26th, 1883. She was held in slavery
even after its abolition in the same State. In 1827
she escaped from her owner and went to New York
City and from thence to Northampton, Mass., and
then to Rochester, N. Y.

Like Joan of Arc, she claimed that she was call
ed to her work through a vision.

Her mother was brought from Africa, but her
father was a mixture of Negro and Indian blood.

The early training of her mother influenced her
entire after life. She taught her the value of hon
esty and truth and directed her mind to contem
plate God as a Father and friend to whom she
could go in confidence and trust.

Naturally Isabella (her slave name) developed a
very religious trait.

She learned the true meaning of prayer and ap
proached it in the spirit of a confident telling her
troubles to God and invoking his aid.

One day she thought that she met God face to
face and it so startled her that she exclaimed : "O
God, I did not know you as you was so big !"

She changed her name from Isabella, the one
given her by her master, to Sojourner, claiming
that the Lord had bestowed it upon her in a vision
and added the appellation "Truth" because that
was the substance of the message she felt impell
ed to declare to men.

From the issue of her marriage Sojourner be
came the mother of five children, the father dying
when they were quite young, left their care and
support to her.

The following incident tends to show that the
mother instinct was strong in her.

One of her sons was sold into slavery in Ala
bama and she was anxious to find him so she
sought council of God. Now simple and child
like her plea, "Now, God, help me get my son. If
you were in trouble as I am, and I could help you,
as you can help me, think I wouldn't do it? Yes,
God, you know I would do it. I will never give
you peace 'till you do, God !" and then taking it
for granted that she would receive the required
help, she continued, "Lord, what would them have
me do?" the answer coming, "Go out of the city."
Not knowing the direction she should take, she

made further inquiry and received instruction to
"Go East."

Accordingly on the morning of the first day of
June, 1845, with a few clothes in her bag, a few
shillings and a basket of food, she left the city and
turned her face towards the rising sun.

It was on this morning that she gave herself,
feeling divinely directed, her new name, saying
that since she was to be a traveler, a sojourner, her
name should be Sojourner. Being asked her sur
name she exclaimed that she had not thought of
that, but immediately went to God about it and in
her characterictic way exclaimed, "Oh, God, give
me a name with a handle to it," and then came the
thought that God's name was truth and she at once
adopted that as her sur-name, which so pleased her
that she lifted up her eyes to God in thanks, saying,
"Why, thank you God, that is a very good name."

Sojourner was a woman of great shrewdness,
wit and impressive voice which together with
force of character made her an effective speaker.

The great theme of her lectures and the object
of her effort was the emancipation of her people,
though she touched upon woman's rights, temper
ance and political reforms.

She traveled widely ijj the northern part of the
United States, but during the Civil War she spent
much of her time in Washington.

Her power to electrify audiences was compared
with that of the great French actress, Rachel.

On one occasion Frederick Douglass was speak
ing to a large audience and was painting a gloomy
picture of the conditions of slavery and was up
braiding the church and State. Just as he had got
the audience under his sway, Sojourner suddenly
arose in the rear of the room and cried :

"Frederick! Frederick! is God dead?" It broke
the spell of pessimism and for a time left the au
dience and the speaker dumbfounded.

She composed a battle hymn for a Negro regi
ment of Michigan and sang it herself both at De
troit and Washington :

"We hear the proclamation Massa, hush it as you

will;
The birds will sing it to us, hopping on the cotton

hill;

The possum up the gum tree couldn't keep it still ;
As we went climbing on."

Her's was a life of service and though of hum
ble origin and of meager ability other than that
conferred upon her by nature, she died in her home
in Battle Creek, Michigan, with the satisfaction
that she had contributed her mite in the service of
her people.

13

Benjamin Banneker, Mathematician-Astronomer

HE first Banneker known of
among Negroes in American his
tory was an African Prince. This
son of an African king was cap
tured, brought to this country
and sold to Molly Welsh of Mary
land. Set free some years after his arrival, Banne
ker, who was a man of fine bearing and contem
plative habits, married his former owner. The
African Prince died early leaving his wife four
children. One of these, a daughter by the name
of Mary, married a native African, who became
converted, joined the church and took his wife's
sur-name of Banneker. This couple in turn had
four children of whom Benjamin was the oldest and
only son.

Benjamin Banneker was born Sept. 9th, 1731.
The boy had a brilliant mind, was popular at school
;jiid a great favorite with his grand-mother who
used to give him of her small share of knowledge
and have him read much from the Bible.

His study under teachers was not at all extensive
but he gained an early love for books and continued
to "dive into books", as was said of him, all his
life. Benjamin was twenty years old when his
father died. The latter had bought one hundred
acres of land when Benjamin was six years old, for
which he paid 1700 pounds of tobacco. To the
son and the widow the father left seventy-f.wo
acres of land and the home, dividing the remaining
twenty-eight acres among his daughters. Though
very studious, Benjamin was an excellent farmer,
having a good garden and a fine assortment of
fruit trees. He kept two horses, several cows and
was very skillful in handling bees. Thus situated,
life was very busy for him, but he made all things
a school.

When he was twenty years o'd haVin? IT> too's
but a jack knife and having seen nothing but a
sundial and a watch, Benjamin made himself a time
piece which struck the hours and which kept the
t'me for more than twenty years. When he was
fifty-eight years of age, Banneker, who all these
years had made the study of Astronomy a passion,
transferred his land to Ellicott and Company for an
annuity of twelve pounds. He was now free to give
his whole time to his favorite study. Night after
night he lay upon the ground, wrapped in his great
coat, watching the heavens. In the morning he
retired to rest, but appeared to acquire but little
sleep. He still hoed in the garden and trimmed
fruit trees for exercise and played on the flute or
the violin for diversion.

He ventured from home but little. The only oc
casion on which he spent much time from his farm
was in the year 1790 and thereabout when he aided

14

in laying off or surveying the Federal Territory for
the District of Columbia. He also aided in locating
the spot for the capitol, the Presidents' House,
Treasury and other public buildings.

On his return from Washington, he published his
first Almanac, 1792, a copy of which he sent Thom
as Jefferson. The latter forwarded the manuscript
to Condercet, Secretary of the Academy of Sciences
at Paris. The publishers advertised it as "an ex
traordinary effort o-f genius, calculated by a sable
descendant of Africa." From this he became wide
ly known as a writer and thinker and famous people
frequently sought him out. He died October 9th.
1806 at the age of seventy-five.
Maryland, Baltimore County, Near Ellicott's Lower

Mills, August 19, 1791.
To Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State,

Philadelphia.
Sir:

I have taken up my pen in order to direct to you.
as a present, a copy of an Almanac which I have
calculated for the ensuing year.

This calculation, Sir, is the production of my ar
duous study, in this my advanced stage of life ; for
having long had unbounded desires to become ac
quainted with the secrets of nature, I have had to
gratify my curiosity herein, thro' my own assidu
ous application to astronomical study, in which I
need not recount to you the many difficulties and
disadvantages I have had to encounter.

And, altho' I had almost declined to make niv
calculation for the ensuing year, in consequence of
the time which I had allotted therefor being taken
up at the Federal Territory, by the request of Mr.
Andrew Ellicott ; yet finding myself under several
engagements to printers of this State, to whom
! had communicated my design, on my return to
my place of residence, 1 industriously applied my
self thereto, which I hope I have accomplished with
correctness and accuracy, a copy of which 1 have
taken the liberty to direct to you, and which 1
humbly request you will favorably receive ; and, al
tho' you may have the opportunity of perusing it
,;fter its publication, yet I chose to send it to you in
manuscript previous thereto, that thereby you
might not only have an earlier inspection, but that
you might also view it in my own handwriting.

And, now, Sir, I shall conclude, and subscribe
myself with the most profound respect.

Your most obedient, humble ser -ant,

B. BANNEKER.

Mr. Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State.
Philadelphia.

N. B — Any communication to me nmy be had
by a direction to Mr. Elias Ellicott, Baltimore
Town.

Phillis Wheatley, Poetess

HILLIS WHEATLEY was one of
the .first literary women of Amer
ica ; the first woman poet of the
United States ; the first Negro au
thor, the first, as far as has thus
far been discovered, to speak of
George Washington as the "first in peace."

The first Negro poet was a slave brought over
in a cargo of captives in 1781. The ship of human
cargo landed at Boston. There among other slave
buyers, were Mr. and Mrs. John Wheatley who
came to select and purchase a girl for their home.
Phillis came forth a frail creature of seven rr eight
years of age. The Bostonians bought her and
christened her Phillis Wheatley. Of course the
slave child was unable to read or write. But the
VVheatleys taught her. In less than sixteen months
she had acquired a fair knowledge of English and
was able to read the most difficult parts of the
"Sacred Writings." From the Bible she began to
read Latin, the Latin poets and mythology. Soon
she began to write verses, which to the people of
Boston were very good, indeed excellent for one
v.-hh so little training.

She was frail in health. To aid her in gaining
strength her friends advised taking a trip to F.n-
gl.'ind which she duly made. In England she was
the guest of the Countess of Huntingdon, to whom
she. later dedicated her book of poems published

in 1773, and was entertained by Lord Dartmouth
and other leading men and women of the Empire.
She wrote so well that people doubted her author
ship. Such men as Governor Thomas Hutchinson
of Massachusetts, Andrew Oliver, and John Han
cock, the first signers of the Declaration of In
dependence, declared that they verily believed that
the poems were her own composition.

On her return to America, she found Mrs. Wheat-
ley poor in health. Later the Mistress died, the
Wheatley home was broken up and the poet left
quite unprotected. Shortly after this she received
an offer of marriage from one Samuel Peters who
was a Negro grocer and a writer and speaker of
high repute. The marriage turned out unhappily
and the poet died deserted, December 5th, 1794.

Benson J. Lossing, the Historian says of her,
"Piety was the ruling sentiment in her character."

The following are taken from Phillis Wheatley's :

ON BEING BROUGHT FROM AFRICA
TO AMERICA.

'Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land,
Taught my benighted soul to understand
That there's a God, that there's a Savior, too ;
Once I redemption neither sought nor knew.
Some view our sable race with scornful eye,
"Their color is a diabolic die."
Remember, Christians, Negroes, black as Cain.
May be refined, and join th' angelic train.

A FAREWELL TO AMERICA (1773.
To Mrs. Susannah W. Wheatley.

Adieu, New England's smiling meads,
Adieu, the flow'ry plain :
I leave thine op'ning charms, O spring,
And tempt the roaring main.

In vain for me the flow'rets rise,
And boast their gaudy pride,
While here beneath the Northern skies
J mourn for health deny'd.

Collestial maid of rosy hvie,

0 let me feel thy reign !

1 lavigllish till thy face I view
Thy van sh'd joys regain.

Susanna'" mourns, nor can I bear.
To see the crystal shower.
Or r.i;i-k the tender falling tear
At sad departure's hour ,

Not unregarding can I see
Her soul with grjef opprest
Hut let no 5igh. nor groans for m»
Steal from het pensive breast.

In vain the feather'd warblers sing,
In va". th garden blooms,
And on the bosom of the spring
Breathes out her sweet perfumes.

While for Britannia's distant shore
We sweep the liquid plain.

And with astonish'd eyes explore
The wide-extended main.

Lo ! Health appears ! celestial dame !
Complacent and serene,
With Hebe's mantle o'er her Frame,
With soul-delighted mien.

To mark the vale where London lies
With misty vapors crown'd
Which cloud Aurora's thousand dyes,
And veil her charms around.

Why, Phoebus, moves thy car so slow ?
So slow thy rising ray?
Give us the famous town to view,
Thou glorious king of day!

l*o.- thee, Britannia, 1 resign
New England's sniiliilg !^-'u!.-< ;
To view again her charms devine,
What joy the prospect yieii

But thou ! Temptation hence away,
With all thy fatal train
Nor once seduce my soul away,
By thine enchanting strain.

Thrice happy they, whose heav'nly shield
Secures their souls from harms
And fell Temptation on the field
Of all its pow'r disarms !

15

Harriet Tubman, "The Moses of Her People'

ARRIET TUBMAN was called the
Moses of her people because dur
ing the years of the Fugitive

Law, she rescued some three or
four hundred slaves and led them
to freedom. She was born about
1820 in Dorchester County, Maryland. She
worked as a nurse, as a trapper; fiield hand
and wood chopper while she was a slave. She
is said to have begun her labors about 1845 and to
have continued until 1860. She made 19 trips into
slave States at exceedingly great risks. She went
into her own native town more than once, bringing
away her brothers and her old parents as well as
many neighbors.

John Brown nick-named her, General Tubman
because of her shrewd management and great en
durance. In her trips to and from the North she
spent days and nights out of doors, in caves and
often without food. She spent a whole night out
of doors at one time in the beating snow with only
a tree for protection. She waded creeks and riv
ers, neck high, forcing those whom she was pilot
ing to follow her. The babies she managed by
drugging them with opium. No wonder a price of
$40,000 was once put upon her head.

She was an eloquent speaker, though she could
neither read nor write. Her words are always
forceful, her descriptions vivid.

She was once sent with an exposition during the
Civil War to bring away slaves. This is her de
scription of the slaves as they flocked to the boats :

"I nebber see such a sight." "Here you'd see
a woman wid a pail on her head, rice a smokin' in
it jus' as she'd taken it from de fire, young one
hangin' on behind, one han roun' her forehead to
hold on, 'tother han' digging' into de rice-pot, eatin'
wid all its might ; hold of her dress two or three
more ; down her back a bag wid a pig in it. One
woman brought two pigs, a white one an' a black
one; we took 'em all on board; named de white pig
Beauregard, and de black pig Jeff Davis. Some
times de women would come wid twins hanyin'

IT necks; 'pear-; like I nebber see so maiiv
\] •

wins in my. life; bags cm der shoulders, baskets
on der heads, and young ones taggin' behin', all
loaded ; pigs squealin', chickens screamin', young
ones squallin'."

Her story of an incident of her childhood days
is told as only Harriet Tubman could relate ex
periences.

"I was only seven years old when I was sent
away to take car' of a baby. I was so little dat 1
had to sit down on do flo' and hev de baby put in

my lap. An' dat baby was allus in my lap 'cept
when it was asleep, or its mother was feedin' it.

"One mornin' after breakfast she had de baby,
and I stood by de table waitin' till I was to take it ;
just by me was a bowl of lumps of white sugar.
My Missus got into a great quarrel wid her hus
band ; she had an awful temper, an' she would scole
an' storm, an' call him all sorts of names. Now,
you know I neyer had nothing good ; no sweet, no
sugar, an' dat sugar, right by me, did look so nice,
an' my Missus's back turned to me while she was
fightin' wid her husband, so I jes' put my fingers
in de sugar bowl to take one lump, an' maybe she
heard me, an' she turned an' saw me. De nex'
minute she had de raw hide down ; I give one jump
out of de do', an' I saw dey came after me, but I
jes' flew, an' dey didn't catch me. I run, an' I run,
I passed many a house, but I didn't dare to stop,
for dey all knew my Missus an' dey would send me
back. By an' by, when I was clar tuckered out, I
come to a great big pig-pen. Dar was an' ole sow
dar, an' perhaps eight or ten pigs. I was too little
to climb into it, but I tumbled ober de high board,
an' fell in on de ground ; I was so beat out I couldn't
stir.

"An' dere, I stays from Friday till de next Chues-
day, fightin' wid dose little pigs for de potato
peelin's an' oder scraps dat come down in de
trough. Do ole sow would push me away when
I tried to git her chillen's food, an' I was awful a
feard of her. By Chuesday I was so starved I
knowed I'd got to go back to my Missus, I hadn't
got no whar else to go, but I knowed what was
comin'. So I went back."

Frederick Douglas wrote her in 1868: "The dif
ference between us is very marked. Most that I
have done and suffered in the service of our cause
has been in public, and I have received much en
couragement at every step of the way. You, on
the other hand, have labored in a private way. I
have wrought in the day — you in the night. 1 have
had the applause ot the crowd and the satisfaction
thatr<it>4i}flfl>|iW being approved l>y the multitudes,
whilfl tlnpnnppt'.that you have done has been wit
nessed by n few trembling, scarred, .and foot-sore
bondmen and women, whom you have led out of
the house of bondage, and whose heartfelt "God
bless you" has been your only reward. The mid
night sky and the silent stars have been the wit
nesses of your devotion to freedom and of your
heroism."

Harriet Tubman lived to a ripe old age and was
always, even after freedom, the friend of the down
trodden. Her house was always full of dependents,
who were supported solely by Harriet's "Faith."

OSCAR WILLIAM ADAMS

MONG the enterprising young men
who threw their weight into mak
ing the Negro Birmingham a suc
cess, none has fought harder or
more creditably than Oscar W
Adams. On graduating from
Normal A. and M. College, Normal, Ala., Mr.
Adams cast his lot with "The Birmingham Report
er," now without question the leading Negro News
paper of Alabama. For a number of years he liv
ed out pretty faithfully the advice of Horace Gree-
ley to the young aspirants to Journalism — "to sleep
on paper and eat ink." But in time the paper came
into Mr. Adams' possession, and the struggle was
even more bitter, if possible. Business did not
hum in Brmingham then as now and so his sub
scribers were few and his advertisers small, and
uncertain, and payment for both subscriptions and
advertisements very slow in coming in.

To keep the paper alive, Mr. Adams gave up his
lodgings and slept in the office on a lounge. He ate
a full meal whenever he could afford to do so.

"But, " says he, "I always paid my helpers. I
didn't think it right to keep them waiting. It was
none of their affair if the paper failed." However,
the Reporter is on its feet today. It has passed

17

through the day of test for twelve years, and .-
Negro paper that survives the test that length of
time can be said to be fully established.

Of course, Mr. Adams had been thoroughly
schooled for the struggle with The Reporter, and
from this schooling one would expect nothing but
victory to the end. Mr. Adams was born in Gulf
Crest, one time known as Beaver Meadow, a com
munity about 25 miles out of Mobile. He attended
the district school to the 8th grade and then made
his way to Normal, Alabama, to the A. and M. Col
lege. To make his way through school, both in
public school and for the first year in College, Mr.
Adams worked as a laborer on a turpentine farm.
During his life in College he served now as agent in
the Commissary, now as the assistant bookkeeper
and finally as the Editor of the Normal Index, the
official paper of the Normal College. Going through
so many experiences and coming out of each suc
cessful, Mr. Adams built the character which has
stood him in such good stead as editor of The Re
porter, as a business man, and a leader in the fra
ternal orders.

Mr. Adams is most loyal, even enthusiastic
fraternity man. As has already been stated, his
paper is the official organ of the Knights of Pyth
ias, Odd Fellows, and Masonic Order of Alabama.
He holds membership also in the Masonic Lodge,
in the Elks, in the K. L. of H., and in the Mosaic
Templars. He is Secretary of the United Brothers
of Friendship, as well as its spokesman in his jour
nal.

Second only to his interest in his journal is Mr.
Adams' interest in education. He is present at all
educational gatherings he can reach and gives free
ly space in his paper to the reports upon all schools
and school work, both in the city and in the state.
He is very loyal to Normal, not only because this
is his Alma Mater, but because he really knows
what it means for most of our boys and girls
to secure even a fair education, an education ris
ing but little above the three R's.

Oscar W. Adams, though a young man, has filled
some of the most important speaking engagements
of any member of his race. He is a man of rare
quality in this special line of work. He is a stu
dent of history and his delivery is easy and pleas
ant. At present he is Chairman of the Four Min
ute Men Speakers of the State of Alabama, direct
ed by the United States Government, and is a mem
ber of the State Committee on War Savings Cer
tificates. He has, no doubt, appeared before more
audiences in the past five years than any man in
the race of his age.

Mr. Adams was married to Miss Mamie Tuggle
in 1910. The happy union, happy in sympathy and
co-operation as well as in affection, for both were
very hard workers, lasted but five years, Mrs.
Adams dying in 1915. He lives now for his paper,
for his school, for his lodge and for Negro enter
prise in every direction.

BISHOP JOHN WESLEY ALSTORK, D. D., LL. D.

ISHOP John Wesley Alstork was
born in Talladega, Alabama, Sep
tember 1st, 1852. From the date
of his birth we gather that he was
born early enough to see a little
of Negro Slavery. But the Bish
op was fortunate in the place of birth and in his
parentage. Talladega is a conservative college
town. It was one of the first places to be given
colleges for the higher education of the Negro
after the Civil War. Here in his own home town
he had advantages of education that were denied
to many men born in the same period. The advan
tage in parentage is seen from the fact that his
father was a minister and was willing and an
xious to see his son have better educational advan
tages than he himself had been able to enjoy. Bish
op Alstork is the son of Rev. and Mrs. Frank Al
stork, who were greatly loved and honored.

Bishop Alstork did not confine his studying to
the courses laid down at Talladega. Livingston
College, Salisbury, North Carolina, conferred D.
D. upon him in 1892. The Degree of LL. D. was
conferred upon him by the Princeton College in
Indiana in 1908. Though born a slave, Bishop Al

stork persevered in acquiring an education till he
had thoroughly prepared himself for the work he
had to do in life.

Bishop Alstork was married to Miss Mamie Law-
son in 1872 when only twenty years of age. Mrs.
Alstork has been a true helpmate to the Bishop
and has helped in his development. Ten years after
his marriage he was ordained in the A. M. E. Zion
ministry. In 1884 he was elected Financial Secre
tary of the Alabama Conference This position
he held till 1892. In 1892 he was elected Financial
Secretary for the A. M. E. Zion Connection. In this
position he served till 1900. His excellent manage
ment keeping the finances of the church in good
condition.

Bishop Alstork had the usual gradual ri<e from
the ministry to the position of Tiisl op. He served
as a regular pastor from the time of his ordina-
tion to 1889. In that year he was made Presiding
Elder and he served in this capacity till 1900 when
he was elected Bishop. Many of the honors within
the gift of his church have come to Bishop Al
stork. He was Delegate to the Ecumenial Confer
ence, which met in London, England, in 1901. He
was sent as a delegate to the Conference in To
ronto, Canada, in 1911.

Although Bishop Alstork is thoroughly interest
ed in the church and in all the work of the church,
he has still had time to show a great deal of interest
in all the phases of education. He is a trustee of
the Livingston College, of the Lomax-Hannon In
dustrial College. Indeed Bishop Alstork was the
founder of the last named institution which is lo
cated at Greenville, Alabama. He is Trustee of
Langridge Academy at Montgomery, Alabama and
a Trustee of the Hale Infirmary also of Montgom
ery. Bishop Alstork is a member of the Federa
tion of Churches, a member of the Southern So
ciological Congress, Director of Loan and Invest
ment Company, Montgomery, Alabama, member of
the Board of Control of the Good Shepherd So
ciety, Inspector of the General G. G. A. Order of
Love and Charity, National Grand Master of F.
A. A. York Masons Colored of the United States,
Lieutenant Commander of the Supreme Council
33rd degree Masonry. In fact Bishop Alstork
lives a very full and a very useful life.

Bishop Alstork has traveled over the whole
of this country and extensively in foreign lands. He
is a loyal citizen of his country. During this war he
has been a faithful worker in all the war activities.
Jlis patriotism has been manifested in every war
work campaign. He is a heavy purchaser of bonds,
and a large contributor to Red Cross and Y. M. C.
A. work. He owns a great deal of real estate and
lives in his own beautiful home at 231 Cleveland
Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama.

BENJAMIN H. BARNES

| OR fully a score of years Booker
T. Washington thundered from
the Tuskegee Institute platform
the doctrine of service. "Go back
to your homes, put a hinge on the
gate, a latch on the door. Don't
stand around and whine. Get into the church, in
the school, into the shop and help. Own your own
homes and become a tax-paying, respectable citi
zen."

Benjamin H. Barnes after graduating under his
father's teaching, sat beneath the voice of the Tus-
kegean and caught the vision that the great leader
sought to impart. He did not pick out any one of
of these suggestions but seemed to absorb them all.
While at Tuskegee Mr. Barnes excelled not only in
his studies both in trade and in books but also in
music. He played the violin, the piano and sang.
For part of three years he traveled as a Tuskegee
singer. Returning to Tuscaloosa his native town,
he accepted work as a teacher in the city public
school and began to live to the full the life that
Booker T. Washington had so ardently preached.
Mr. Barnes immediately connected himself with
the work of the town church, the First African
Baptist Church. He had been in attendance here

but a short time when he was elected superinten
dent of the Sunday School, a post at which he
served for twenty-five years. Not long after this
Mr. Barnes was made church organist: and for
twenty years the Baptists of Tuscaloosa have sung
to his playing in the church.

Some years ago this church set out to erect a
new building. The cost of the house was to be
$25,000.00. Mr. Barnes along with his church and
Sunday School work had demonstrated that he was
a business man. The church members placed him
at the head of the Committee, rallied to his sup
port and put up a splendid brick structure. Tho'
ministers came and went, Barnes stayed by his post
till the last brick was laid. He is now financial sec
retary of the church, secretary of the board of trus
tees and one of the strong active deacons.

However, his biggest service as a Christian work
er is being rendered among the young people of the
state. Alabama is peppered with Negro Baptists.
Blow your Baptist trumpet in the remotest hamlet
and a regiment of loyal followers will come for
ward to bear up the standard. Among their organ
ization is a Baptist Young People's Union. Mr.
Barnes has been the president of this organization
for sixteen years. In recognition of his religious
services and of his exemplary scholarship, Selma
University some years ago conferred upon him the
honorary degree of Master of Arts.

All through his life Mr. Barnes has been a very
intense student, both in books and in affairs. He
spends many hours in home study, in a very excep
tional home library. From time to time he has tak
en home correspondence courses from the Univer
sity of Chicago. In addition to this he keeps tho
roughly abreast with all educational movements in
the state. No convention or gathering of educators
in the state is likely to assemble without finding
Benjamin H. Barnes on hand ready to give advice,
time or money to make things go.

The home of Benjamin H. Barnes, all paid for,
is one of the most handsome of the half dozen ex
cellent Negro homes of Tuscaloosa. As one pur
chase whets the appetite for another Mr. Barnes
after paying for his home, bought other buildings
and now owns property to rent.

This is not the full business story of Prof.
Barnes. The Union Central Life Relief company
of Birmingham is one of the comparatively few
Negro firms of the -kind to stem the tide of bus
iness adversity. Casting about for a manager of a
branch office in Tuscaloosa, the Union Central Re
lief found the man they wanted in Prof. Barnes.
In this office and in visiting patrons Mr. Barnes
spends his summer and spare hours when not on
duty in the school.

One dominant trait is unmistakable in the Barnes
family, that of holding fast to the duties in hand—
a father, school teacher in one place forty-two
years: a son, school teacher for nearly twenty
years, Sunday School superintendent twenty-five
years, president of Young People's Baptist Union
sixteen years.

Mr. Barnes is married; his wife is his partner.
She has rendered valuable service in all of his en
deavors. They have celebrated their crystal wed
ding with much pomp.

19

JEREMIAH BARNES

HEN you go to Tuscaloosa, Ala
bama, on school matters, the
County Superintendent, the bank
ers and other people will tell you
to "see Jeremiah Barnes". Mr.
Barnes is principal of the Negro
Public Schools of Tuscaloosa, and is most likely the
oldest Negro School man today engaged in active
service. He began his career as a school teacher
back in 1874, when a Negro school master was in
deed a rare person. From that date scarcely a day
has passed during the school session without find
ing the veteran at his post. Indeed, he goes to
school whether he teaches or not ; for he keeps the
keys of the Tuscaloosa High School and almost
daily, even in summer, you will find him about the
school going over the grounds, attending the school
garden, inspecting the rooms inside.

The veteran school master of Tuscaloosa was
reared a slave, on the farm of Judge Washington
Wood, eight miles west of Tuscaloosa. Here he
learned to read and write and found some opportu
nity to improve himself generally. He was a brick
mason back in the 60's. Ten years later he was
running a variety store, at which time he became
alderman of Tuscaloosa, grand juror of the county

and a teacher in the public schools. In 1874 the
same year that he began his school work, Mr.
Barnes became a Master Mason and later was
made Worshipful Grandmaster for three terms.
Since that time he has been made Secretary of fore
ign correspondence for his Grand Lodge, a posi
tion which he held for fourteen years. He was one
time grand patron of the Alabama Order Eastern
Star and is a charter member of the Oak City
Lodge No. 1785, Grand United Order of Odd Fel
lows. He twice served his own district rgand
lodge as deputy grand master.

All this wealth of life experience along with con
stant study of books Mr. Barnes brought to the
school room. For years he was a teacher, being
promoted step by step until he reached the highest
post in the Negro schools of his native city. In his
work as teacher he has taken rightful pride in the
graduates he has turned out. Some have gone to
college, some to industrial schools, some settled
to trades, some to school teaching after leaving
him. Wherever they have gone they have made
their mark as very useful hightoned citizens.

In his school curriculum Prof. Barnes balances
his courses pretty well between class room work
and industrial work. His courses run into studies
in Algebra, Geometry and Latin; out under the
window you will see a flourishing school garden,
and a place for cooking in the basement. He teach
es the children by deed as well as by word, that
work is honorable and intellectual, just as solving
a problem in Algebra or constructing a verb in En
glish or Latin.

To this, too, he adds a most needed phase of ed
ucation, that of beautifying one's surroundings.
The Negro High School building of Tuscaloosa
happens to be in a rather unhappy section of the
city. A railroad yard is nearby, so also is the city
refuse pile and the city stables. Yet by setting out
trees, constructing fences and laying out walks, the
veteran educator has managed to shut out pretty
nearly these obnoxious features of his school en
vironment, thus showing the pupils that their own
lives within need not be disturbed by the lives with
out.

Along with helping the students of his school,
Prof. Barnes has reared and educated several child
ren of his own. His son, Benjamin, is the strong
assistant of his father in the Tuscaloosa school
work, is the great Negro Baptist Young People's
Union leader of Alabama, church organist, and bus
iness man. The other son is the treasurer of the
Snow Hill Normal and Industrial School of Snow
Hill, Alabama.

How long Prof. Barnes will remain in the school
work none but a higher power can tell. So far he
shows no signs of retreat. He is vigorous, active,
both in body and in mind. Best of all as a school
teacher he is very cheerful and very optimistic for
himself and his people.

20

EDWARD AUSTIN RROWN

HERE arc about 800 Negro law
yers in the United States. Some
of them have occupied positions
of trust and prominence, political,
judicial and diplomatic. Yet
whenever a colored man thinks of
entering the legal profession he is instructed to
have well in mind Socrates' definition of courage.
Said the sage, "He who rushes into battle without
knowing all the consequences does not represent
genuine courage but rashness." Thus it is with the
law for the Negro. Of all the professions it is very
probably the least hospitable to the black man. As
a rule, he is not accorded a square deal in the courts
of the South, while in the North he finds himself,
for the most part, up against the most lively com
petition. He, then, who enters here must weigh
between courage and rashness ; and he who suc
ceeds in compelling a fair measure of success is
either a giant in intellect or a wizard in tact and
diplomacy.

That Edward A. Brown did not enter the law
through rashness, through not knowing the at
tendant dangers, can be fairly inferred from the
fact that he was born in the South, where the sit
uation is quite patent. Mr. Brown was born

in

Raleigh, N. C., forty odd years ago. After com
pleting the public school course in his native town
he had private tuition in order to prepare himself
for college, and soon thereafter entered Lincoln
University, in,Pennsylvania, where four years later
he finished the collegiate course, graduating with
honors. Just as Mr. Brown was about to enter a
New England Law school he was offered an oppor
tunity to study law in the office of Judge Henry
McKinney, who was at the time one of the ablest
lawyers at the Cleveland, Ohio, bar. This offer was
accepted and in due time the young law student was
admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court of Ohio.
Incidentally, it may be mentioned that of the 108
applicants for admission at the time, Mr. Brown
offered the best examination.

After practicing his profession for a while in
Cleveland Mr. Brown came to Alabama, where
again he made a record in his examination for ad
mission, winning from the presiding judge the
statement that this was the best examination he
had ever witnessed. Ever since his admission to
the Alabama bar Mr. Brown has pursued the active
practice of his profession in Birmingham, where
he resides, except for the period of eight months
during which he was an army officer at the time
of the Spanish-American War, serving under a
commission of First Lieutenant in the 10th U. S.
Volunteer Infantry.

Mr. Brown enjoys a lucrative practice and, like
thousands of the best lawyers of the country, is
what is known as a "civil" lawyer, giving no at
tention to criminal practice. He is regarded by the
judges and members of the bar generally as an able
lawyer and as a man of the highest personal char
acter. His clients and friends believe in him, in his
knowledge of the law, his integrity and his unfail
ing sane judgment. To illustrate the unselfish
public spirit of the man a single incident may be
related: The commissioners of the city of Bir
mingham, following the example of certain other
municipalities, undertook to enact a law providing
segregation of residences based upon race. Mr.
Brown, without being employed or even requested,
went before the commissioners with a strong pro
test against the adoption of the proposed ordinance
and made such a forceful argument against its con
stitutionality as to defeat it then and there. Here
was an example of his unselfish spirit, for although
this was legal service of the highest order and deal
ing with a matter of far-reaching importance to his
race, not a dollar was charged by him or accepted.

Mr. Brown has succeeded in accumulating a com
petency, owning a residence valued at $5,000 and
other real estate ; and besides, he has some money.
For several years he has served as general attorney
for the Knights of Pythias of Alabama, of which
fraternal order he is a leading and influential mem
ber. He is active in all movements touching the
welfare of his people and is one of the really strong
and substantial men of his community and state.

The Brown family is small, consisting of Mrs.
Brown and one son, Edward, Jr. Mrs. Brown, who
was Miss Nettie Jones of Cleveland, Ohio, is active
in club work and various charities. Edward, Jr.,
is a quiet, studious lad, having made first year
high school at the age of thirteen.

MISS CORNELIA BOWEN

N a certain day in May if you are
anywhere in Montgomery County,
Alabama, you will see wagons
from the country, cars and car
riages from the city, crowding
and jamming along the road, all
going in one direction. On inquiry you will learn
that they are making their way toward the Mt.
Meigs Institute, to attend the commencement ex
ercises. When you reach the school, there will
break on you a sort of vision of a new city, sudden
ly peopled. This is the work of Miss Cornelia
Bowen of Mt. Meigs.

Miss Bowen went to Mt. Meigs in 1888 to plant
a school in the wilderness, as it were. To reach
the rural man and woman as well as the small boy
and small girl was a demand which both Miss Bow-
en and the late Dr. Washington felt it a sacred duty
to answer. To use Miss Bowen's own words in
"Tuskegee and Its People" — "a call reached Dr.
Washington in 1888 for a teacher to begin work in
the vicinity of Mt. Meigs, Alabama, similar to the
work done at Tuskegee, but of course on a smaller
scale. Mr. E. N. Pierce of Plainville, Connecticutt,
had resolved to do something in the way of pro
viding better school facilities for the colored people
living on a large plantation, into the possession of

22

which he had come. Mr. Washington answered the
call while in Boston, and telegraphed me that he
thought me the proper person to take charge of
and carry on the settlement work Mr. Pierce and
his friend had in mind."

The place itself is far away, out of contact. The
people were weighted down with debt, mild peon
age, morals were at a low ebb. Miss Bowen set
out to improve the lives of the old people while
building a school for the young. She taught Bible
classes in the leaky country church and held meet
ings and conferences for the mothers and fathers.
In a little while the people began to know that there
were ideals of health, of family, of property own
ership. Thus it is that today they troop on horse
back, in buggy, in wagon to Mt. Meigs Commence
ment. Here along with the diversion offered they
come upon the first impulse to do good.

It has become quite common nowadays to speak
of the pioneer, but the Mt. Meigs school was in a
very real sense a pioneer in its own kind of work.
To set up in the country a school which was a
community center : a school which called in the
country women to teach them cooking, sewing,
and house-keeping, to teach them how to rear and
treat their children ; to instruct them in finer man
ners towards their husbands and towards their
neighbors ; to persuade them to eliminate certain
habits, like dipping snuff and smoking and chew
ing tobacco, as unfeminine and un-womanly ; to
have done all this in those early days of any kind of
Negro school in Alabama was genuinely pioneer
work.

The same constructive program was adopted
with the men and boys. Men were better farmers,
better husbands, fathers, cleaner in their habits,
more ambitious in their ideals because of Mt.
Meigs. They formed more definite ideals of home,
of family, of church, from this teaching and from
their contact in the school. Where there was no
farm ownership, they began to buy farms. Where
there were no flowers, flowers began to grow : an
air of refinement and of taste began to assert itself.

There is nothing so new about this now, for we
begin to see the very definite results of this train
ing. Mt. Meigs opened a boarding department and
rooms for the children and taught them new les
sons of life. It fired them with zeal to go back to
their village and teach what they themselves had
learned. This situation now so prevalent was at
first a most startling innovation when Mt.
Meigs began. It was the first trumpet call to the
man in the fields that somebody really cared for
him, for the life he lived, whether or not he was
really happy.

Wrhile thus laboring among the elders, Miss
Bowen was founding a school. She bought her
land, forty-odd acres, and began to put up buildings.
She put on the curriculum, not only grammar,
arithmetic and the like, but the study of practical
industries, such trades as the boys and girls could
use immediately in their homes. Thus she teaches
her own school gardening, farming, poultry-rais
ing, the care of live stock and bee-culture.

VIEW MT. MEIGS INSTITUTE

hi the meantime she was not forgetting her own
education. She had attended school at Tuskegee
Institute, where Dr. Washington was examiner,
school teacher, principal, lecturer and a good many
other things. Under him she sat, got her Tuske
gee diploma, then spent some time as principal of
the "Children's House", of Tuskegee Institute. To
the education of experience, which her principal
and friend, Dr. Washington, so ardently believed in,
Miss Bowen added study in New York City and fur
ther study in Queen Margaret's College, Glasgow,
Scotland.

Miss Bowen is through and through a product
of Tuskegee Institute. She was born on what is
now the Institute Campus. The little cottage in
which she was born was the first building of Tus
kegee Institute to be used for teaching girls' in
dustries. "And never do I go to Tuskegee," says
Miss Bowen, "that I do not search it out among the
more imposing and pretentious buildings, which
have come during the later years of the school's
history."

The cottage in which she was born stood on the
plantation of Colonel William Bowen, to whom
Miss Bowen's mother was a slave. Unlike most
slave mothers, Miss Bowen's mother could read,
having been taught by a former mistress in Balti
more. She was therefore able to superintend her
daughter's education to greater degree than
most mothers of the time, hence arises, no doubt,
the daughter's very strong grasp on people and af
fairs.

Miss Bowen was first taught by a southern white

woman of the town of Tuskegee. : She then at
tended the public school of Tuskegee until Booker
T. Washington came and founded the Institute.
Her school on "Zion Hill" was then closed and the
children all flocked to the new school. Booker T.
Washington was then an active teacher. He gave
her the examination and placed her in the Junior
class. He taught many of the subjects. Miss
Bowen looks back with no end of pleasure to those
days when Dr. Washington taught grammar, his
tory and spelling.

She was a member of the first class to graduate
from Tuskegee Institute. This was in 1885, before
the school had even conceived of the great indus
trial idea. Miss Bowen was an honor student, re
ceiving a first grade diploma and winning one of the
three Peabody medals ; medals which were award
ed for excellence in scholarship.

With this foundation she went out to establish
the Mt. Meigs Institute, full of confidence. Her
work in the school has made a name for Miss Bow-
en. She has several times held various offices in
the National Association of Colored Women's
Clubs, State Teachers' Association of Alabama, and
in the Colored Women's Federation of the State,
and its president for fourteen years.

While a very excellent administrator, and a rare
student of both men and books, Miss Bowen excels
in the mind of many, through her gift of eloquent
speech. Few persons on the platform today can
bring so much power to bear, go so directly to the
point and so eloquently as can Miss Bowen.

23

RICHARD ANDERSON BLOUNT

T was Robert Browning, who ex
pressing his fondness for Italy,
said, "If you open my heart you
will find the word 'Italy' written
therein." If you made an incison
in the heart of Richard Anderson
Blount of Birmingham, Alabama, you would find
"Knights of Pythias." For nearly twenty years
now Mr. Blount has thought Knights of Pythias,
talked Knights of Pythias, traveled for Knights of
Pythias, and what the order of the Knights of Py
thias in Alabama is today, is traceable very large
ly to Richard Anderson Blount.

Back in 1887 Mr. Blount came into Birmingham
to seek his fortune, attracted by the prospects of
the town. He found employment with the Lawe-
son Carpet Company and spent some time in their
service. He worked also for sixteen years for
Ben M. Jacobs & Brothers. It was during his em
ploy with the Jacobs Brothers that Mr. Blount be
came engrossed in the work of the Knights of Py
thias. His zeal for the order and his business acu-
nen soon attracted attention, with the result that
in 1898 he was elected Grand Keeper of Records
and Seal. In three years he had given such good
service and had established the records on such a

sound business basis that the body of the state
made him Grand Chancellor, a post at which he
has served now for fifteen years.

The records show that when Mr. Blount assum
ed office there were in the state some sixty-five
lodges, with a total membership of 16000 people.
In fifteen years through the efforts of Mr. Blount
the Knights of Pythias of Alabama have three hun
dred and forty-five lodges with a total membership
of ten thousand. The order of Knights of Pythias
is much better known, more popular, enjoys a wider
confidence of the people, both of those who are
members and those who are not.

Of course the Knights of Pythias of Alabama
must have a building of their own. It just chances
that the Alabama Penny Savings Bank is available.
Mr. Blount and his helpers are pressing home plans
to secure this building. To secure a splendid four
story brick structure like the Alabama Penny Sav
ings Bank Building, which has an office rent of
several hundred, requires money, backing, appreci
ation of values, and confidence. All this the Knights
of Pythias have and they have it very largely
through Richard Anderson Blount.

Mr. Blount is not a native of Birmingham. He
came from Montgomery where he was born in the
early seventies. He attended the Swayne school in
his native town. While he was going to school, Mr.
Blount had to work. He somehow got into carpet
laying; a trade which did him great service in the
early years of his manhood.

His affiliation with and leadership of the Knights
of Pythias do not blind him to the merits of other
fraternities and organizations. He is an active
member of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, a
staunch member of the Masonic Lodge of the
Shriners, of the Odd Fellows and of the Elks.

One of the most conspicuous things about Rich
ard Anderson Blount is the beautiful home he has
erected and paid for. In going up Seventh Avenue
the passer-by turns round to look again and again
as he passes this residence. This house is by no
means the extent of Mr. Blount's ownership of
property. He owns several rent houses and lots
in and about town.

But the home and the home life were a vision
of long ago. He saw big and handsome homes and
happy families about. Into his own spirit crept
the vision of such a home with a happy family.
Both he now has. He has been married for more
than twenty years. His first wife who was Miss
Lucy Massey, died some eight years ago. The
daughter of this union is now a student at Spelman
Seminary in Atlanta, Ga. He recently married
Miss Mary Lue Crawford. Mr. Blount has travel
ed much in the South and in the East and has to
do so in the interest of and for the development of
his lodge.

24

CLINTON J. GALLOWAY. A. B.

RAVELING through the rural
districts of Alabama, especially
through Macon County, every
where one sees new up-to-date
school houses. These schools have
three and four rooms or more.
Some are used as Model schools in which the
teacher lives and has around her all the animals
and other things to be had on a farm. These model
schools are to train the country boys and girls how
to live happily amid their native surroundings. In
some places the old half-decayed school buildings
are still standing making a marked contrast with
the new and up-to-date structures. The one man
who is more largely responsible for this condition
than any other is Clinton J. Galloway of Tuskegee
Institute.

Mr. Calloway was born April 18, 1869, in Cleve
land, Tennesee. Here in his native town he at
tended the public school, remaining to finish the
Grammar grades. For his High School work he
went to Chattanooga, Tennessee. As a young man
he had the trait of sticking to a thing and so he
remained in the school till he completed the course
in 1889. He then matriculated at Fisk Uuniversity.
All through his school career he was an earnest,

25

careful student, deserving and receiving the praise
of his teachers. In 1895 he completed the classical
course of Fisk and graduated with the degree of
A. B. All through his years of study he gave close
attention to practical ideas and ideals.

After graduation Mr. Calloway accepted work in
the Extension Department at Tuskegee Institute
and here he has remained ever since. During the
years spent in the Extension Department of Tuske
gee, Mr. Calloway has done much to develop and
make of service his department. In 1895 when Mr.
Calloway took charge, the work was restricted to
dealing with the farm and country folk in general.
It was then in its rudimentary stage. Mr. Calloway
saw the great need of better schools. It has been
largely through the demonstrations of Mr. Callo
way that Miss Jeannes of the Jeannes Fund was
convinced of the value of outside aid in rural school
work among Negroes. To this end there are now
all through Alabama and other Southern States
workers among the rural teachers who travel back
and forth supervising the work of the country
schools. These are the Jeannes supervisors.

Another great advance in the Rural Schools of
Alabama and now of other Southern states is due
to the vision and thought of Mr. Calloway. It was
he who suggested to Dr. Washington that Mr.
Julius Rosenwald of Chicago would help in the
erection of new and up-to-date schools for the rural
districts of Alabama. Acting on this suggestion
Mr. Rosenwald has invested the largest sum of
money set aside for educational purposes. The
schools built from the fund are known as the Ros
enwald schools. The suggestion came from Mr.
Calloway and he is the man who has had to work
out the detail of the investment and he has also
had to help the rural people raise their share of
the money. All of them turn to Mr. Calloway
when discouraged and expect to be shown the way
out of difficulties. Never has he failed them. Mr.
Calloway is now the head of the Extension De
partment with a number of workers under him, in
stead of being the whole of the Department as he
was when he first took the work.

Mr. Calloway was married to Miss Josie Eliza
beth Schooler March 12th, 1901 at Kowaliga, Ala
bama. To Mrs. Calloway her husband gives credit
for his success in acquiring property. They own
their own beautiful home and 1,000 acres of land
and the implements, stock, etc., that are required
for this sort of farming. Mr. Calloway is a Con-
gregationalist in Religious belief. He is a practical
Christian and commands the respect of all who
know him.

Mr. Calloway is through and through a man of
business. Whatever he undertakes to do is seen
through the amount of good done for the amount
of money spent. He is President of Homeseekers
Land Company, Capital Stock $10,000.00 and mana
ger of the Tuskegee Farm and Improvement Com
pany with a capitalization of $25,000.00.

There are many better schools, better homes and
better farms in Macon County and in fact all
through Alabama because of the work of Mr. Cal
loway in the Extension Department of Tuskegee.

T. M. CAMPBELL

ATCHING the spirit of his illust
rious teacher, Booker T. Wash
ington, Mr. Campbell, the pioneer
Negro Farm Demonstrator is
bringing to a realization the
dreams of the late Dr. Seaman A.
Knapp, the father of farm demonstration work— I
am thinking, said Dr. Knapp, "of the people of rose
covered cottages in the country, of the strong glad
father and his con-tented, cheerful wife, of the
whistling boy an dthe dancing girl with school
books under her arms so that knowledge may soak
into them as they go ; I am thinking of the or
chards and the vineyards, of the flocks and the
herds, of the waving woodlands, of the hills car
peted with luxuriant verdure, and the valleys in
viting to the golden harvest." Mr. Campbell and
his large corps of workers are doing all this for
the colored people of Alabama and the South.

Born February 11, 1883, just outside the corpor
ate limits of the little town of Bowman, Elbert
County, Ga., Mr. Campbell's life was typical of the
average boy of that section, and at the age of fif
teen, he found that he had attended school less than
twelve months. Hearing of Tuskegee from an old-

26

er brother who had gone there, the lad determined
to attend. His father failing to keep a promise to
let him use the money earned working on a neigh
boring plantation, the boy walked and worked his
way to Tuskegee from which he was graduated
eight years later in 1906. He speaks as follows of
his Tuskegee experience: "My training was such
that I was unable to make the lowest class when I
came to Tuskegee, and I sometimes think that my
only salvation was that I was large and strong and
my services were needed on the farm. By constant
study, both day and night, I was able to make a
class the next year and every year after until my
graduation. During my eight years stay here as a
student, I received only $2.00 cash and one suit of
clothes as assistance."

When Dr. Knapp came to Tuskegee in 1906 seek
ing his first Negro demonstrator, he found his man
in the field following a two-horse plow. This man
was T. M. Campbell, who had recently been gradu
ated and was specializing in agriculture.

"Young man", said Dr. Knapp, "I want you to
travel over a given territory and show the Negroes
how to prepare land just as you are doing now."
This Mr. Campbell did, traveling in the Jesup Ag
ricultural Wagon, an idea of the far seeing Dr.
Washington who conceived the idea of taking ed
ucation to the farmer. This work was later merged
into the United States Farm Demonstration work
and has taken Mr. Campbell into every part of Ala
bama and other portions of the South.

For the past twelve years, early and late, in sun
shine and in rain, he has been going about Alabama
and other Southern States making the waste places
blossom. Mr. Campbell defining the term demon
strator says : "A Demonstrator is a farmer chos
en by the government Agent because of his ability
to attract the people of his community to himself,
he is commonly called a community leader." Mr.
Campbell, who is now officially known as District
Agent for Farm Demonstrate!) Work for the col
ored people of Alabama, possesses these qualifica
tions in a high degree. He has a very winning per
sonality, and a rich musical voice which wins
friends wherever he goes.

Unlike most public men of the race, Mr. Camp
bell is not a lodge man, due perhaps to the fact that
he is so seldom at home; for his duties keep him
ever on the road. He is a Methodist and zealous
church worker.

On June 1st, 1911, Mr. Campbell was married to
Miss Annie M. Ayers of Virginia, who is also a Tus
kegee graduate. Four children, Thomas Jr., Car
ver, Virginia and William help to make the home a
happy, cheery place. The two older boys are in
school and promise to follow in years to come the
lootsteps of their father.

JAMES HENRY EASON, D. D.

R. James Henry Eason, the pas
tor of the very select congrega
tion of the Jackson Street Baptist
Church, Birmingham, Ala., is an
ideal product of his state. He was
horn October 24, 1866 to Channie
Bingham Kason and Jesse Bigham. Born, reared
and for the most part educated in Alabama, he has
turned all his time and his talent — has brought his
vision to pass in the state of his birth. He was born
in Sumpterville, Sumpter County. Gaining all he
could in the Sumpterville public school he entered
Selma University and after graduation from Selma
Dr. Eason took his course in theological training at
Virginia Union University, Richmond, Va., receiv
ing the degree of D. D. On finishing his studies he
immediately returned to Alabama to give account
of his education. Although he earned his way, he
felt that he owed a great debt to the people of his
state. In 1884 he began teaching school in Gads-
den. He taught one year in Garfield Academy at
Auburn. Ala., and seven years in Selma University.
In the meantime he had been appointed state Mis
sionary for Alabama by the Home Missionary So
ciety of New York. In this office, he served several
years.

The year 1891 saw the formal beginning of Dr.
Eason's career as a pastor. In this year he accepted
thev pastorate of the Union Baptist Church at Ma
rion, Ala. Here he became moderator of the new
Cahaba Association. From Marion Mr. Eason went
to Anniston. Here he really began to assert him
self as a minister and as a community builder.
When he accepted the pastorate of the Eleventh
Street Baptist Church in Anniston, there were
eighty-five members of the congregation. This
body was then known as the Galilee Church.
Dr. Eason held his post here for fifteen
years. In that time he increased the mem
bership from eighty-five to seven hundred
and put up a new building which cost $25,-
000.00. While building this church in Anniston,
he noticed that comparatively few colored people
owned homes. To aid the people in securing
homes, he organized the Mercantile Investment
Company, whose efforts have resulted in hundreds
of colored people owning their homes in this city.

His name now spreads abroad as a worker and a
man of exceptional gifts and rare industry. He was
for ten years Editor of the Baptist Leader ; the
official organ of 280,000 Alabama Baptists. He ed
ited and published the Union Leader of Anniston
Alabama for five years ; meanwhile he had written
and published a book entitled, "Sanctification ver
sus Fanaticism," which was the first book pub
lished by the National Baptist Board, and had writ
ten articles and historical sketches for the maga
zines.

Thus asserting himself, he became a candidate
for many honors. Guadaloupe College, Texas, and
Benedict College, S. C., each honored him with the
degree of Doctor of Divinity. He was given the
presidency of the Colored Baptist State Convention
which he held ten years, resigning in 1916. For
seven years he was vice president of the National
Baptist Convention. Selma University elected him
a member of the Board of Trustees and for one
year he carried the presidency of the Anniston In
dustrial College. June llth, 1917, Dr. Eason was
elected president of Birmingham Baptist Col
lege, Birmingham, Alabama. He was a dele
gate to the World's Missionary Conference,
which met a few years ago in Edinburgh, Scotland.
He preached in Scotland and traveled extensive
ly in Scotland, in England, in Belgium and in
France. For several years now Dr. Eason has been
pastor of the Jackson Street Baptist church in Bir
mingham, where he has put in many improvements.
He takes great interest in the business life of the
Negro in Birmingham just as he did in Anniston.
He was a director of the Alabama Penny Savings
Bank in its early days and a depositor in it to the
last. He is himself a property owner, owning his
home and other real estate which are valued at
$5.000.

Dr. Eason was married in 1894 to Miss Phoebe
A. Kigh of Selma, Ala. Of three children born into
the Eason home, only one, Miss Gladys is living.
She is married to Mr. Edward A. Trammel!. Little
Phoebe Mae Trammell is Dr. Eason's only grand
child.

27

-

SCEXE IX GROVE

ALHOUN Colored School is locat
ed at Calhoun, in the agricultural
County of Lowndes, southern Ala
bama, 27 miles south of Montgom
ery, on the main line of the Louis
ville and Nashville Railroad.
Eighty—five per cent of the peo
ple of the County are Colored, 95 per cent of the
precinct.

The School was founded in 1892 by Miss Mabel
W. Dillingham and Miss Charlotte R. Thorn,
Northern white workers at Hampton Institute.
Shortly before nearly forty Negroes of the vicinity
had lost their lives in a race conflict. After this
catastrophe the people held religious services for
two weeks, praying for a school from the North.

Among the original trustees were Booker T.
Washington, who continued in that office until his
death, John Bigelow, and Thomas Wentworth Hig-
ginson, who was succeeded by Richard P. Hallo-
well. General Armstrong, though in failing health,
gave invaluable endorsement and counsel.

Lowndes and the adjacent Counties south and
west were of the most neglected regions of the
South. There was almost no Negro ownership of
land. The crop lien tenancy conditions were unusu
ally repressive. The cabins lacked even the crudest
sanitary equipment. The meager public school
funds of Lowndes County were divided between
White and Colored in the ratio of thirteen to one
per child.

Conditions at once shaped the work into the fol
lowing departments: First, the school centre for
a limited number of boarding pupils, with farm and
industries ; second, instruction of pupils from the
cabins ; third, community work ; fourth extension
work into the County and gradually beyond.

Miss Dillingham survived only two years of Cal-
houn's early toils and hardships. Miss Thorn is still
principal.

In 1896, 3,283 acres adjoining the school were

purchased for resale to Negroes for $21,565.00.
The resale was virtually at cost price, with the legal
rate of 8 per cent interest on notes. Lots aver
aged 40 acres. Notwithstanding the purchasers'
lack of capital, tools, and stock, and against a series
of unfavorable seasons, all payments were com
pleted within seven years.

In 1907, 600 additional acres in the vicinity were
brought under Negro ownership. There are now
83 proprietors on a tract of about 4000 acres, of
whom two-fifths have built cottages of from three
to seven rooms. Nearly all these homes are paid
for.

The result of this land movement is a community
which is described by standard books on the South
as exceptionally moral, intelligent, and progres
sive, with far-reaching influence, and intimately
co-operative with all the work of the school. The
enlargement of this Negro land ownership under
Calhoun's direction is earnestly desired by the
people and urged by educational authorities South
and North.

Calhoun had in the year 1916-17, 35 salaried work
ers, White and Colored, in nearly equal numbers.
405 pupils were enrolled, 32 in excess of any previ
ous year. There are 92 boarding students, boys
and girls. Over 150 additional applications were
refused for lack of room. The graduating class
numbered 18

The endowment May 31, 1917, was $107,039.25.
The value of land, 21 buildings, and equipment was
$95,307.36. This includes a water system with com
plete fire protection. The library numbers 3,853
volumes, and is well supplied with daily papers and
periodicals. The following buildings have been
contracted for: new barn, silo, grist and saw mill
with tractor engine, and a three-room school. The
rapid and permanent increase of pupils demands
an addition of three large buildings for assembly
hall, class rooms, shops, and dormitory space for
200 boarding pupils.

28

SEWING ROOM

The property is vested in an independent board
of trustees: H. B. Frissell, president, Hampton In
stitute ; Paul Revere Frothingham, vice-president,
Boston ; Charlotte R. Thorn, Treasurer, Calhoun ;
Pitt Dillingham, Secretary, Boston; Henry W. Far-
naw, chairman Investment Committee, New Ha
ven ; N. Penrose Hallowell, member Investment
Committee, Boston ; William Jay Schieffelin, mem
ber Investment Committee, New York ; Henry
Ware Sprague, Buffalo ; Joseph O. Thompson, Bir
mingham.

The support is mainly from contributions. There
is no State aid. The total income of the last fiscal
year was $73,236.26. Of this sum $31,803.07 was
for endowment, buildings, permanent improvement,
and equipment.

The purpose of Calhoun is the progress of the
agricultural region of southern Alabama. The first
obligation is to its own neighborhood, then to the
County, then to further sections as its work ex
tends and develops. It is in intimate and uncom-
petitive co-operation with the larger institutions
which serve the Colored population of the South
generally, and with schools of higher education.

The academic course, originally limited to the
six lowest grades, has gradually increased to ten
with the progressive needs of the people. Thor
ough drill is united with inspirational teaching, with
training is given as far as the limits of the course
outlooks into the world's life and thought. Normal
will permit, as graduates are in great demand for

public school teaching. Calhoun graduates teach
more than 1400 public school children in Lowndes
County alone. Teachers of Calhoun's higher aca
demic grades have all been trained in Northern col-
Iges and universities. Those in charge of the lower
grades are graduates of colleges or standard normal
schools. Moral and religious training is prominent,
in which the school's undenominational character
is an advantage under the conditions of the field.
Agricultural training is of chief importance. The
school farm has 388 acres under intensive cultiva
tion; 300 acres of this are rented, from necessity.
There are three expert farmers and teachers. A
fourth directs the people's farming and business.
The Colored farm demonstrator of the County is
paid in part by the school. This department held
last year a County Fair and eight farmers' confer
ences. Its counsel is sought continually by farm
ers of the region. Public conferences and exten
sion lectures on farming are increasing through an
enlarging number of communities. The response
to President Wilson's appeal for more food produc
tion to meet the needs of the world war was an
swered by Calhoun with a doubling of farm acre-

M1LKIXG TIME

BLACKSMITH SHOP

age, large increase in buildings, equipment, stock
and summer force of working students.

The trades taught are carpentry, house building,
repairing and painting, blacksmithing, cobbling,
with harness repairing, cooking, sewing, laundry,
and domestic crafts. Certificates are given in
blacksmithing, cobbling and domestic arts, also in
agriculture. The addition of a year to the course
ensures the equivalent of two years' trade school
instruction in carpentry and building.

Community and extension work is no less prom
inent than the school work proper. Community
clubs and classes are held. Medical assistance is
given by the school nurses at a low cost. Commu
nity sales held weekly through the term provide
second-hand clothing from the North. The school's
community and extension workers and others of
the force are continually among the people, whose
visits to the school are frequent for meetings, en
tertainments, and private counsel. The life of
home, farm, church, public school, and lodge is
open to the school's directive influence through
an ever widening area, in a way to develop initia
tive. The County and extension work is largely
done through approved persons, graduates and oth
ers, who render enthusiastic and unintrusive serv
ice.

29

GEORGE W. CHANDLER

EORGE W. CHANDLER is a
produce of Talladega College,
though a farm lad by birth. He
is a member of the Masonic, Mo
saic Templars, Rising Sons and
Daughters of Protection, and
United Order of Good Shepherds. To these con
nections add that he is Notary Public of Mont
gomery County, a trustee and steward of the C.
M. E. Church of Montgomery, Trustee of Miles
Memorial College of Birmingham, and founder
and trustee of the Good Shepherd's Home of Dal
las County, Alabama, Editor Good Shepherd's
Magazine, and you have the list of services a man
in quiet life can perform.

Mr. Chandler was born on a farm some six miles
from the town of Talladega. He attended the
country school until he was twelve years old, after
which he entered the preparatory department in
Talladega Coollege. Five years here fitted him in
a measure to begin to earn a livelihood.

At the age of nineteen he left Talladega and
found employment in a grocery store. On spending
three years at this he became inspector for an in
surance company. This position he held for four
years. From this date he began his life work,

that in connection with the United Order of
Good Shepherds. He is now Supreme Pres
ident of this organization, which operates pretty
generally in the South and which owns some 3100
acres of land in Dallas County, Alabama, owns a
Shepherd Home and does a great deal of useful
work among its members.

His great achievement is the establishment of
this order. Mr. Chandler founded this order in
the town of Eufaula, Alabama, the third Wed
nesday in July, 1904. Those who stood by Mr.
Chandler and were joint founders with him were
Clark Richardson, Thomas Williams, Mary A. Jack
son, Ellen Turner, J. A. Ward, P. H. Harmon, and
John L. Thomas. The body at that time had one
little book of eight pages and a financial card. Its
largest membership was one hundred and fifty.

Very clearly re-organization was urgent, if the
order really hoped to take its place among the
substantial orders of the race. With some misgiv
ing but with ardent persistence Mr. Chandler set
to work. Exactly one year later he called a meet
ing in Montgomery, offered fifty-six resolutions,
one of which let the organization be incorporated,
the membership had increased, confidence had been
gained. All that he asked was done.

Year by year the order began now to gain more
members and a wider usefulness. It established an
endowment system one year; another year it rais
ed its policy: a third year it established several
additional Fountains, another year it passed reso
lutions to buy and build a home for old and decrepit
members, widows and orphans. With seven hun
dred dollars in his pocket Mr. Chandler set forth
to buy land for this home. Two thousand acres
were bargained for in Dallas County, for which a
first payment of $2000 was made. The order was
now extending its arm into other States. It had
Fountains in Georgia, in Florida, in Mississippi, in
Oklahoma, as well as in Alabama. In 1910 the
trustees added 1060 acres of land to that already
purchased, making a tract of 3060 acres.

Thus has the Order grown and fought its way to
its feet. Its two farms have cost $36,000 with in
terest at 8%. The home for the aged and decrepit
has been under continual improvement and care.
During the last five years more than $6.000 has
been raised and expended on the Home. All this
goes to show that the trustees and George W.
Chandler have not been idle to the opportunities
of the man on the land. About one thousanrl acres
of the land is improved, the remainder is good tim
ber land, land on which flourish white oak, pine,
poplar, cedars, ash and red oak. Taken for all and
all, this land which cost the Good Shepherds $34,000
with interest, is now valued at $150.000.

The Order has gained the confidence and good
wishes of many of the leading citizens of Mont-

30

NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS OF THE UNITED ORDER OF GOOD SHEPHERDS

gomery, its headquarters, both white and black.
Everywhere, it has kept its obligations and made
friends, and employed reliable people as its rep
resentatives. A letter from Bishop J. W. Alstork
will illustrate the good standing the Order of Good
Shepherds has gained through the hard work of
G. \V. Chandler.

Bishop J. W. Alstork of the A. M. E. Zion Church
says in part :

If men are to be commended and rewarded for
what they have done, you deserve a place in the
first rank of those who have done something for
the advancement and general uplift of the people.
1 regard the project of purchasing the Good Shep
herd Home as one of the most advanced steps ever
taken for the race in this Country. When it comes
to Agriculture and economics it stands far above
any Negro Society for broadness in scope and
comprehension in arrangements.

Mr. Chandler believes in real estate as one of
the best investments for anyone, especially for the
colored people. He believes that such investments
tend to raise a man in the esteem of his fellows

in a community, and to make him feel on the other
hand responsibility. Through very close economy
which he learned to practice early in his career,
Mr. Chandler has been able to make many very
happy investments in the business of real estate.
His investments and property holdings are rated
at $20,000.

For both business and pleasure he has been able
to travel much, having covered practically all the
Southern States and a few Northern States in his
journeys. Mainly his trips have been in the in
terest of the Order of the Good Shepherds which
owes to him much credit for its success as an or
ganization.

Mr. Chandler's family is small, consisting of
three, himself, Mrs. Chandler and daughter. He
was married in 1904. Mrs. Chandler was Miss Liz
zie Redding of Macon, Georgia. The daughter,
Nettie Lena Chandler, is a pupil in school.

Mr. Chandler has the confidence and the good
wishes of the leading citizens of the State of
Alabama.

31

S. N. DICKERSON

PTIMISM and pessimism, are to
be found in all the walks of life
and are not confined to any race,
class or profession. While this is
true to find a business enthusiast
among the colored race is a rarity.
Such a one is Samuel Newton Dickerson of
Talladega, Ala. A business rather than a profes
sional life appealed to him and he has put into his
business that energy, zeal and intelligence which
wins success.

Mr. Dickerson was born in Talladega, the city
where he began his business career and which has
been the field of his business activities.

He was born at the close of the civil war and
received his education at the Talladega College.
He first entered the public school where he was
prepared for the college course. Like most young
colored men his way to an education was not a
rosy path.

The educational facilities of the town were am
ple for his purposes but the question of a livelihood
made it difficult for him to avail himself of them.
In addition to his own support he had the care of
his mother and sister to whose comforts he devot-

ed his life. One of his outstanding traits is his de
votion and loyalty to his family.

Difficulties are not fatal to a strong man but act
as a tonic to spur him on so it is not surprising
that Mr. Dickerson succeeded in the face of diffi
culties in securing an education.

Mr. Dickerson's first business venture was that
of a painter which he followed for fifteen years
from 1890. He then entered the Drug business
which he continued for ten years with marked suc
cess.

From this line of business he entered the gen
eral mercantile business which now occupies his
time and attention.

While push is his watchword in business con
servatism steadies his place and it is to these two
characteristics that he has scored so great a suc
cess.

Concerning life as a poor man through thrift
and good management he has accumulated a good
property. Besides his home he owns a store, six
rental houses, several city lots and one hundred and
ten suburban lots. He also owns a share of stock
in the Chinabar Cotton Mill.

He is a great advocate of the Negro entering the
marts of trade and encourages the establishment of
individual firms but his ideals of business take a
wider range than the individual and reaches out to
the community life. He believes in co-operation
and takes the position that the colored citizen has
a part to play in the development of the civic life
of the community and should take part in all en
terprises of a public nature which has for its end
the upbuilding of the community life.

He sees in this way the best method to win re
cognition and respect for the worthy colored citi
zens.

Mr. Dickerson's talent as a business man and
promoter is recognized by his friends who con
stantly come to him for advice, and they always
find in him a friendly and sound adviser.

Aside from his personal business connections he
has headed a number of business associations.

He has served as President of the Talladega
Business League, President of the Farmers Invest
ment and Benevolent Association, President of the
Negro Merchant's Association, and Vice-President
of the Alabama Negro Business League. He has
given murh time and thought to these organiza
tions and they have profited through his wise coun
sel.

In business matters'he is a leader, but in the do
main of religion he prefers to follow. He is a
member of the Baptist Church and does his part in
keeping up the church enterprises. He is also a
Mason and has served as Worshipful Master of the
Mariah division.

Mr. Dickerson's home life is happy though de
prived of children. In 1890 he married Miss Alice
Camp of his home city. Although they have no
children of their own, childhood makes a strong ap
peal to them and they spend much time and money
in helping the children of others. They are the
children's friends.

He gave his sister, Mrs. T. B. Barnett, the best
of educational advantages and fitted her for teach
ing. She is now a teacher in the Swayne College.
Montgomery, and ranks high in the profession.

32

JOHN WILLIAM BEVERLY.

iFORE SLAVERY was abolished
there was born in Hale County,
Alabama, not far from Greens
boro, a baby boy who was destin
ed to play a large part in the edu
cational advancement of the col-

ored race of Alabama. That babe

was John William Beverly.

Nature endowed him with a bright mind which
was largely developed through the agency of the
Lincoln Normal College, then located at Greens
boro, where he received his education.

After reaching that period of life when he must
decide upon a calling he chose the profession of
teaching and his first work in the school room after
his graduation was at a school near Demopolis,
Alabama. Here he served during the years 1886
and 1887.

From 1887 to 1890 he taught in the Lincoln Nor
mal College and from there he went to Brown
University, Providence, R. I.

lie returned to Alabama in 1894 and became the
Assistant Principal of the State Normal School.

This school was established as Lincoln Normal
University at Marion, Perry County, by act of the
Alabama Legislature in 1873. it was moved to
Montgomery in 1889 and the name changed to its
present title.

When Professor William B. Patterson, a white
man, who for forty years had presided over the
school and contributed much to its development,

died in the year 1915, Prof. Beverly was called to
take his place and since that time he has devoted
his time, energy and talents to its welfare. Under
his leadership the school has not only maintained
the high standard to which his predecessor had
brought it but has advanced beyond it.

Having a good foundation to build upon he has
proved himself a master builder.

While his main thought is concentrated upon the
school room his interest in the welfare of his peo
ple does not end there. His vision carries him
beyond the domain of the college and he finds op
portunities to serve his people on the outside
through the medium of his pen,

He possesses exceptional talent as a writer and
it has served him well in the preparation of pamph
lets for distribution among those who are denied
educational advantages. In this way many who
are denied privileges are kept in touch with the ed
ucational progress of the day and are influenced to
make sacrifice in the interest of the education of
the children.

He is the editor of "Practical Ethics for Children"
and "Guide to the English Oration."

His writings have taken a broad range but pos
sibly the work which has brought him into greater
prominence as a writer is his History of Alabama.
This work has been adopted by the State Board as
a supplementary study of Alabama History, Prof-
fessor Beverly is a man of deep thought and con
siders well his plans before executing them.

He is a farmer and owns and cultivates farms in
Elmore and Montgomery Counties. He has studi
ed closely the advanced theories of farming and
has watched their practical test and has adopted
those which appealed to his judgment. In this
way he has brought his farming operations to a
higher standard of success.

He owns his home which is located at 105 Tatum
Street, Montgomery, the refined elegance of which
is the reflection of the refined taste of the occu
pant.

Associated with Professor Beverly in the opera
tion of the State Normal Institute are a corps of
teachers, gifted in their particular branches and
who render valuable assistance to the Principle in
promoting the welfare of the college.

Through the splendid system of operation put
into effect by the Principle and forcibly carried out
by the faculty, the pupils are thoroughly equipped
to fill their places in life in their chosen fields of
endeavor.

The faculty of the State Normal College is as
follows: J. W. Beverly, Principal; Annie W.
Doak, Secretary; Mary L. Strong. Literature;
Rev. E. E. Scott, History; Miss Mary F. Mon
roe. Mathematics; J. L. Kilpatrick, Science; Venus
H. Lewis, Supervisor Study room ; Albert H. Bev
erly, English ; Christine L. Graves, English ; Rosa
L. Shaw, Drawing; Gertrude L. Watkins, Domestic
Science; Josie Murray, Domestic Art; E. M. Lewis,
Carpentry ; Annie L. Brown, Music ; Bertha L.
Smith, Supervisor of Model School and Peda
gogics; 11. S. Murphy, Agriculture; Camille High-
tower, Sewing and Physical Culture; Minnie J.
Lewis, first grade; josie Govan, second grade;
Bertha West, third grade; Merillo T. Garner,
fourth grade; Dora D. Beverly, fifth grade; Bessie
L. Nelms, sixth grade ; Mary F. Terrell, seventh
grade ; M. J. Moore, eighth grade.

•

LINCOLN LACONIA BURWELL, M. D.

INCOLN LACONIA BURWELL,
of Selma, AlaDama, is, like the
other professional men in these
pages, an answer to the query :
"We give money to educate Ne
groes, but what becomes of them
afterwards?"

As a boy in Marengo County, Alabama, where
he was born, he was all but destitute. He was
given away to rear when eight years old, to his
brother, Charles A. Burwell. While working on
the farm in the usual way of a country boy, he
showed ability to grasp more than the rural school
had to offer.

Accordingly, in 1883, he went to the Alabama
Baptist Normal and Theological School, now Sel
ma University. By 1886 he finished the college
preparatory course as valedictorian of the class. In
the same year he entered the Leonard Medical Col
lege, Shaw University, Raleigh. North Carolina,
completed in three years the course in medicine
which usually covers four years. Here, again, he
was valedictorian.

With no money and no backing Dr. Burwell re
turned to Selma. At first he worked as a pharma
cist. Having an opportunity to buy a business, he

entered into a partnership to. ...purchase... .a drug
store equipment and stock. He borrowed one hun
dred dollars, which each partner was to pay in
cash, from his brother-in-law, and gave notes for
the balance. In a little while, however, he sold his
share, and devoted all his attention to the practice
of medicine. Four months after this step, the
business failed. But Dr. Burwell felt that the col
ored people ought to have a place to have their
prescriptions filled and to get soda water without
embarrassment, and therefore set up a business
for himself. The store was a room, twelve feet by
fourteen, which he built near his home. Perfume
bottles took the place of regular stock bottles, and
the tinctures were made in spare hours.

As the business grew Dr. Burwell moved, always
getting larger quarters and nearer the center of
town. On April 20, 1895, when steady develop
ment had brought much increased volume, the drug
store was destroyed by fire. In two months, how
ever, the store was open again, notwithstanding
the small insurance. In 1904 he put up a splendid
brick structure opposite the City Buildings in the
business section of Selma. Here are all the attrac
tions and accommodations that the best drug
stores anywhere offer, with four persons regularly
employed. There is a large soda fountain, chairs
and tables in the center of the room, telephone
booth, offices for medical consultation and treat
ment. Everything is so well arranged and kept
that it makes a Negro a little proud of himself
just to enter here.

Dr. Burwell has constantly kept in view his duty
of service to his fellows. Educated under Christian
auspices, he felt, indeed he knew, that accomplish
ment, talent, knowledge, and wealth were but
loans to be repaid in helping others. So, he taught
pharmacy to Drs. G. W. Clark. T. L. A. Tomlinson
and C. W. Reid. These young men were thus able
to pass the Alabama Pharmacy Board without the
expense of attending the schools. Several others,
now doctors, were able to shorten their course in
college because of help from him.

In the late nineties, yellow fever invaded the
lower South, and, of course struck Selma. The rich
and well-to-do fled northward, leaving their homes
and property to the mercy of those who remained.
The white citizens organized a protective league to
see that no vandalism was practised in the citv.
Dr. Burwell organized a similar league among the
colored people, which detailed seven men to patrol
the colored sections and any other district assign
ed to them. No vandalism was practiced, and both
races to this day point to the incident with pride.
Another evidence of the public spirit of our sub
ject is the fact that he raised a group of thirty
three men who enlisted in Company C. Third Ala
bama Volunteers, for service in the Spanish-
American War.

34

BURWELL'S INFIRMARY

Notwithstanding the heavy burden of business
activities, Dr. Burwell does not neglect his
religious duties. He is a devout Christian work
er. During the twenty-seven years of his life in
Selma his interest has constantly followed both
church and school. For thirteen years he was Sec
retary of the Board of Trustees of Selma Uni
versity, of which he is still a member, giving to his
Alma Mater time and service and often carrying
financial responsibilities with no thought of re
turn.

The city of Selma is one of the few in which
Negroes have an infirmary. The average colored
patient must stav at home, however inconvenient it
may be for him, and expose his family. Dr. Bur-
well it was who founded the infirmary in Selma
in 1907, providing competent trained nurses to give
the colored people the same chance at health and
recovery that others may have. At present, be
sides the founder, nine white physicians take their
colored patients here for operation and treatment.
Incidentally, this is no inconsiderable haven for the
Negro nurses.

When Dr. Burwell announced the opening of
the Infirmary, an announcement which gave him
no little pleasure, as it voiced the consummation
of a noble achievement, he took occasion to speak

of another of his enterprises in the following sig
nificant words :

"With a big store erected and paid for, where the
Negro can come and does come, without any timi
dity or fear, with such business as gives employ
ment to four Negroes daily, and with six young
men inspired and prepared to do life's work as they
may choose, the fondest hope of what I wanted to
do for my race is realized."

These words evince a commendable pride for
achievements in the interest of his race.

Dr. Burwell possessed of a zeal in the interest
of his people and devoting much of his time and
talent to their advancement was not unmindful of
his life calling and the steady development of his
practice bears testimony to his popularity as a
physician.

With all these big things. Dr. Burwell is a rather
intense family man. You will not talk with him
long before you are informed that to Mrs. Burwell,
who was Miss Lavinia Richardson, is due the great
est credit for his success. His two daughters were
educated in Oberlin, Ohio. Miss Almedia L. Bur-
well was graduated from the College, having taken
also extensive work in the Conservatory of Music
of the same institution. She is now "teacher of
music in the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical
College, Tallahassee, Florida. The other daughter,
Miss Elezora L. Burwell, is interested in business

DR. BURWELL'S RESIDENCE

DR. BURWELL'S LIBRARY

She was graduated from the Oberlin Business Col
lege in 1915, and is now Secretary to the President
df Selma Univeristy.

Thus it appears that this man, starting rather
destitute in Marengo County, has given a good
account of his stewardship. Being a member of
the Baptist State Convention of the Order of
Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, trustee of
Selma University, builder of a big drug store busi
ness, helper of the poor student and the poor peo
ple, founder and promoter of a Negro infirmary, he
has certainly earned the title of big and public-
spirited citizen. Add to this the splendid education
of his children and his erection of one of the finest
homes in Selma, and you will see why Dr. Burwell
is pointed to with pride by members of the race,
and you will also read the answer to the query
with which we began.

35

WILLIAM HENRY COLEMAN, M. D.

R. WILLIAM HENRY COLEMAN
of Bessemer, Alabama, follow
ed in the wake of many of our
leading men in getting his educa
tion, only he used a greater varie
ty of occupations perhaps than

most of those who have made

their way from the bottom. Born in Montgomery,
Alabama, January 9th 1877 he attended school for
a while in his native city.

Finishing such training as he could get here at
that time he became a student in Payne University,
Selma, Alabama. From Payne he finally made his
way into Meharry Medical College at Nashville,
where he was graduated in 1900.

His ambition to fit himself for the medical pro
fession did not lead him along a smooth path but
he won the victory when he formed the purpose to
succeed and his subsequent efforts were more inci
dents in his plan.

In order to complete the courses both in college
and medicine he found it necessary to put his hand
to a variety of tasks. One session he taught school
but the revenue from this source was inadequate to
meet his expenses so he gave up this employment
and sought another. His next employment was
that of Bell boy in a hotel and while not so digni
fied a position as teaching school it added to his in
come and served his purposes better.

From Hotel bellman he became a Pullman porter,

covering in his journeys the greater part of the
United States and going into Canada and into Mex
ico.

From this latter work he was enabled to save
sufficient money to pursue and finish his medical
studies, though he had to practice the greatest
economy and added to his fund by working as jan
itor of the college and filling other posts that would
yield him a penny to carry forward his education.
Having to work hard for an education lie learned to
appreciate its value more and the very sacrifices he
made to secure it added to its impelling forces
in his after life. Graduating from Meharry in 1900,
he first began practice in Crawfordsville. Arkan
sas. While the life of a country physician brought
a rich reward in health and strength he felt
the call of a larger field and so after one years re
sidence in Crawfordsville he removed to Bessemer,
Alabama, where he opened an office in 1901 and
where he has continued to reside until now.

His practice has grown wonderfully during his
eighteen years residence in Bessemer as lias his
popularity as a man and physician. He is inured
to hard work and notwithstanding his large prac
tice he finds time to devote to his social, civic and
religious duties.

He is an active churchman and makes his per
sonality felt in the religious body to which he be
longs, Allen Temple A. M. K. Church.

He is also actively identified with a number of
secret orders, the Masons, Knights of Pythias, Mo
saic Templers and others.

While giving close attention to his patients and
not neglecting the manifold duties crowding into
the life of busy men he still continues his studies
and often the product of his pen finds its way to
the medical journals.

He made it a rule to consider the problems of life
with calmness and wisdom and never to yield to the
suggestions of worry. He realized that all action
is followed by equal reaction and so he fortified
himself against all depressive influences.

The reason why he is enabled to accomplish so
much is that he carefully plans his work and works
to a definite point.

One of his theories is, that the margin between
success and failure is very small and that success is
not so much due to great ability as the use you
make of the ability you have, whether it be great
or small.

He loves his profession and has given to it the
best that is in him.

The domestic life of Dr. Coleman is very happy
and it is an abiding joy to care for his aged mother,
who makes her home with him.

He was married in 1914 to Miss Mattie Kirk-
patrick of Nashville, Tennessee, who is a help meet
in every sense of the word.

They live in a modern home worth about $5000.00
and have investments in both residence and busi
ness property.

The atmosphere of hospitality and good will per
vades their home.

36

ARTHUR WILLIS DAVIS, B. S., M. D.

N the year 1875, in Marion Ala
bama, Dr. Arthur Willis Davis
was born. At that time for a
black man to aspire to the study
of medicine was to approach a
field shrouded in awe and mys
tery. Hut notwithstanding' the veil of mystery
covering the profession, Dr. Davis decided to enter
its domain.

The facilities offered to the colored youth in this
line of endeavor in his section of the country was
much beclouded, the teachers few and not espe
cially competent, which made the road that young
Davis had to travel to reach his aspiration full of
difficulties.

Difficulties discourage the weak but brace the
strong so Dr. Davis made his way through them
to a gratifying success.

Marion, the birth place of Dr. Davis and where
he received a public school education, was an edu
cational center, the very atmosphere of the place
breathing the spirit of education, which no doubt
contributed to his aspirations. He had seen many
young men and women leave the educational insti
tutions located there achieve success in life and

naturally he attributed their success to the prepa
ration they had received in college. He formed the
determination to secure a good education himself
and having come to that decision he left home in
search of his goal.

He first attended the Talladega College at Tal-
ladega, Alabama, where he received his B. S. de
gree.

He specialized in the sciences for the good it
would serve him in his life work.

After completing his course at Talladega Col
lege he next entered Meharry Medical College and
completed his course of study there in 1903.

He was now ready to hang out his shingle and in
casting about for a place to begin his life work
his eyes turned towards his native State, ambi
tious alike to serve his own people as well as him
self.

Tuscumbia won his favor and it was in this town
that he began the practice of his profession which
extended to the near-by City of Sheffield.

It proved to be a wise choice. In the section he
had selected as a field of labor the colored man liv
ed in great numbers and stood together in all
efforts towards advancement. It is hardly neces
sary to add that he soon had a number of patients.

When he opened his office in Tuscumbia his sole
wealth was $25. This nest egg has multiplied
many times.

After fourteen years of practice his list of assets
show that he owns a comfortable home, a drug
store and stock, two farms and a residence in Shef
field which he rents. To have accumulated such a
property in so short a time shows business ability
as well as professional skill. He had learned the
art of saving which is the first lesson in permanent
success.

His term at the Talladega College left a religious
impress upon his life which remained with him. In
his religious belief he is a Corigregationalist though
in sympathy with all religious bodies.

In Fraternal matters Dr. Davis is a Mason and
a member of the Mosaic Templars.

He is the State medical examiner for the Mosaic
Templars and is also the medical examiner for the
Conservative Life Insurance Company of West
Virginia, the Standard Life Insurance Company of
Atlanta, Georgia, and for the Lincoln Reserve
Company of Birmingham, Alabama.

Dr. Davis was married December 26th, 1905, to
Miss Hattie Lee Jackson of Nashville, Tennessee,
a Christmas gift, which has always appealed to his
heart. They have one child, a daughter, who
makes sunshine in their home.

Miss Sadie May Davis is still a young Miss in
school, seeking like her father to fit herself for a
life of service. No doubt under his guiding hand
she will find her place and (ill it with the same
credit that he has filled his.

JAMES OLIVER DIFFAY.

NE of the quietest, most courteous
and most humble men of Birming
ham, Alabama is J. O. Diffay. Mr.
Diffay has the habit, more com
mon in the country than in town,

of seeing strangers. In a quiet,

easy way he soon manages to get them by the hand
to find out what they are looking for and to help
them secure the object of their search, whether this
be a lodging house, a good meal, a business prop
osition or a railway station.

Of course there is more or less reason for this
on the part of Mr. Diffay. He is one of the oldest
citizens of the giant Southern city. He knew Bir
mingham when the town was near rural, when
there were few if any street lights, no cars or tax-
icabs, and no street signs to guide the stranger.

How rural it was is brought out by a few facts
of Mr. Diffay's early childhood. Mr. Diffay was
born back in the early sixties in what is now Bir
mingham. He attended the county school up to
the fifth grade, attending about 4 months in the
year. While going to school Mr. Diffay worked on
the farm. Thus the setting hereabout was closely
akin to rural in Mr. Diffay's early days.

At the age of twenty-four Mr. Diffay entered
the business of selling produce. Finding this not
so much to his liking he next set up a barber shop
for colored people and set out to grow with the
town. Mr. Diffay always felt that the colored peo
ple should have just as attractive shop, just as com
petent and polite service as any other people. Thus
as Birmingham grew he improved his shop. Here
is a $10,000 emporium with some twelve odd revolv
ing chairs, large mirrors, hot and cold water,
baths, electric fans, pool room parlors, social club,
indeed all that makes a barber shop pleasant to look
upon and a refreshing place to visit. Twelve bar
bers, neat and alert, are employed steadily here to
wait on the colored customers. Probably taken
all in all there is nowhere a better shop for col
ored people than this of Mr. Diffay's in Birming
ham.

For years Mr. Diffay labored here, working be
hind the chair himself superintending his helpers,
acting as cashier and watching for and putting in
improvements. His big shop in recent years has
become well known, his business secure." He has
therefore for a good while been free to look about
the city, to watch the progress of the people and to
play a formidable part in the growth of Negro bus
iness. Finding himself comparatively free, Mr.
Diffay turned much attention to real estate, with
the result that before the hard times came on his
business in real estate almost rivaled that in the
barber shop.

When the late Dr. Pettiford, sometimes spoken
of as the "Nestor of Negro Bankers," started the
Penny Savings Bank, Mr. Diffay was among the
first whose good will and cooperation were sought.
He seconded Dr. Pettiford in all his actions, was
for years the vice-president of the bank. When Dr.
Pettiford died, Mr. Diffay succeeded him, becoming
president of the Alabama Penny Savings Bank and
the Prudential Bank which had combined their in
terests.

Though his education was not far advanced dur
ing his youth, Mr. Diffay, besides the advantages
of very good local contact, has embraced every
chance of self-improvement. He is especially zeal
ous of race education, of knowing what colored
people are really doing. Then, you will find him in
a teachers convention, a farmers' conference, a Y.
M. C. A. cabinet meeting, a doctor's gathering, lis
tening and quietly questioning. In this way he
keeps himself young, well informed and surrounded
by a host of warm friends.

These meetings are not on Mr. Diffay's required
list. His Grand Lodge meetings, his church meet
ings are. Few men are seen oftener in their pews
of the famous 16th Street Baptist Church than Mr.
Diffay. Few are more liberal towards it with sup
port, time and counsel than he.

Mr. Diffay owns and lives in a beautiful new
home near the rush of the city, yet removed from
the noise of traffic and cars. Here Mrs. Diffay, for
merly Miss Soselle Bradford, makes stranger or
friend feel perfectly at case. Indeed, the Diffays
have a cordial way of turning you loose, to go when
you please and where you please and to come back
when you please. Very likely there is no colored
man in Birmingham who has made as many friends
for the city as has J. O. Diffay.

DARIUS H. HENRY, D. D.

R. Darius H. Henry is a type of
that Emersonian American who
does a great many things pretty
well. He has taught school, been
a farm demonstrator, an editor
and a pastor. Of these he still
holds one or two pastorates and he still farms.

Dr. Henry was born in 1866 in Coy, Alabama.
At a tender age he was given to his grandparents
who spared no pains in trying to train him up in
the fear of God and educate him to become a useful
citizen. To them he owes all his education and all
the inspiration that he received in his youth. The
lad was first sent to the public school of Coy, Ala
bama where he remained till he needed more ad
vanced work and he was then sent to the public
school at Camden, Alabama. From Camden he en
tered Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute
and was graduated from the Normal department
in 1890.

On leaving Tuskegee. Dr. Henry returned to his
native town, Coy, and for two years taught the
public school there. Thinking to enlarge his use
fulness and better himself at the same time, he left
Coy and went to Avenger. Texas. Here for five
years he taught the public school and, with Mr. J.
W. Friday edited a school Medical Journal. He was

later editor-in-chief of the Watchman, a paper pub
lished in Texarkana.

Giving up his work as editor and teacher in Tex
as, Dr. Henry returned to Alabama, to Coy, and
began to farm. Dr. Henry owns his own farm of
1240 acres, and valued at $25.00 per acre and runs it
himself. His average cotton yield is seventy-five
bales a year. He runs on his plantation a saw mill,
a ginnery and a grist mill. In the ginnery alone he
does a great business, for there passes through his
mill from 250 to 300 bales of cotton a year. Mr.
Henry has not neglected to put around himself and
family all the comforts of country life. The fam
ily lives in their own home which is valued at $1800
and they have around them all those comforts of
fruit trees, vines, garden and stock that make life
in the rural districts content. Indeed so successful
has Dr. Henry been as a farmer that the late Dr.
Washington once sent him to a Governor of Ala
bama as an example of Negro progress in agricul
ture. For two years he served the Government of
his country as United States Demonstration Agent
in Wilcox County.

Dr. Henry's work as pastor is not eclipsed by his
labors as a farmer. He was introduced to the
Baptist State Convention by the Rev. L. S. Stein-
bach. And he has proven worthy of the trust put
in him. He is a member of and pastor of the Little
Zion Baptist Church, at Coy, Alabama, his native
home. Dr. Henry divides his time as pastor with
the Magnolia Baptist Church at Camden, where as
a boy he attended school. Nor is the labor of Dr.
Henry confined solely to his locality. He is Mod
erator of the Star Hope Association of his section
and he was for eighteen years clerk of this asso
ciation. He has served on boards for the asocia-
tion and for the convention as well. Indeed so
freely has Dr. Henry given himself to the cause
of the Baptists of the state and so great has been
his development along these lines that Selma Uni
versity conferred upon him the degree of Doctor
of Divinity in recognition of his growth and of his
service.

In fraternal membership Dr. Henry belongs to
the Masonic Lodge 195 of Coy, Alabama, and to the
Eastern Star 75. He is Master of the former and
Worthy Patron of the latter. Dr. Henry was
married in 1897 to Miss Julia A. Brewer. There
are no children in the Henry family.

When it was known that I. T. Vernon was to re
sign his post as Register of the United States
Treasury, Dr. Henry's friends highly recommend
ed him for the vacancy. This application was en
dorsed by both Democrats and Republicans as well
as the leading colored men of Alabama. His cre
dentials arrived too late but the effort served to
show him the high esteem in which he was held
bv his fellow citizens.

39

WILLIAM J. EDWARDS

MONG the men who sat under
Booker T. Washington and
caught his vision of service in the
uplift of the unfortunate in out-
of-the-way places, William J.
Edwards is a brilliant example.
Born in Snow Hill, Wilcox County, Alabama, in
the year 1870, his career has been marked with pri
vation and difficulties almost impassable. Diffi
culties either make or break a man and in the case
of Professor Edwards they proved his making.

His mother died when he was only twelve months
old and his father left Snow Hill when he was
about six years of age and in a short while the
message came that he too was dead. Left an or
phan at the early age of six he was placed in the
care of his old grand-mother who did her best to
meet the responsibility and provide for the devel
opment of his mind as well as his body.

She sent him to the neighboring school but often
with only bread for his lunch. The lack of food,
however, did not quench the thirst for knowledge
and he applied himself to his books with great
energy and determination.

When he reached the age of twelve this friend
and protector was also taken from him and he was

left to shift for himself. Perplexed and almost
bewildered he consulted a minister in the com
munity and through him learned of the Tuskegee
Institute. He at once determined to attend this
school and in order to provide the means for his
tuition he rented two acres of land, cultivated it
and in the fall when his crop was gathered he en
tered the Institution. He not only entered the
school but finished his course and finally stood out
side of its walls to face the problem which con
fronts most young men who graduate and are
ready to take up the active duties of life. "What
next?" Law and the Ministry both made a strong
appeal to him and he gave them the closest con
sideration but the vision of service to the unfor
tunate which Booker T. Washington had placed
before his mind had gotten too strong a hold upon
him to be easily cast off so it decided his life work.
The outcome of this plan was the founding of the
Snow Hill Normal and Industrial Institute.

When his purpose was formed his mind instinc
tively turned towards Snow Hill, the place of his
boyhood struggles. He moved cautiously, how
ever, not wishing to make a mistake at the incep
tion of his plans. He wanted to be sure of his
ground. To this end he canvassed several of the
Black belt centers, noting the condition of the peo
ple, the relation of the races and the educational
advantages enjoyed by them.

When he first went to the Tuskegee Institute he
made most of the journey on foot and the initial
journey through the counties of the black belt in
the interest of his proposed enterprise was made in
a like manner. It was best to travel in this way
from two standpoints. It was cheaper, and money
was a consideration with him at that time, and by
this method of travel it gave him an opportunity to
meet more of the people among whom he hoped to
labor.

The result of this journey decided him where to
locate his school and also determined its character.

He found that there was a colored population in
the Snow Hill district of more than 200,000 and a
school population of 85.499. The people he found
to be ignorant and superstitious and that strictly
speaking there were no public schools and but one
private one. That they were being taught by min
isters and teachers not far above them in intelli
gence.

Visions are given us to inspire to noble effort
so Professor Edwards immediately set to work to
translate his vision into reality and the Snow Hill
Normal and Industrial Institute is the monument
to his labors. To this institution he has given his
life. He has expanded it, developed its courses,
added many buildings and best of all has realized
his dream of a school for the people.

The founder of this school must have kept before
his mind the line "Tall oaks from little acorns
grow" and had learned well the lesson "not to de
spise the day of small things." When his school
started in the year 1894 its housing was an old log
cabin, its teaching force one and the number of

40

SNOW HILL NORMAL AND INDUSTRIAL INSTITUTE

pupils three. This equipment backed by a capital
of fifty cents marked its modest beginning.

By the way of contrast we quote from the Gov
ernment Bulletin No. 39 issued in 1916:

"Total attendance 293; male 145 and female 148.
Total teaching forces 29; all colored; male 15, and
female 14; academic 14, boys' industries 5, girls in
dustries 2, matron 1, executive and office workers
6, agriculture 1.

The acorn has become a tree and proudly stands
as a monument to faith, energy and an abiding pur
pose to serve the people among whom the founder
was born and reared.

As stated above the school was founded in the
year 1894 and is the outgrowth of a vision which
came to the principal, Professor William J. Ed
wards, while a student at the Tuskegee Institute.
The school is owned and controlled by a board of
capable Northern and Southern men.

Its material growth has been very rapid and
while it has contributed to the pride of the insti
tute its chief glory lies in the educational advant
ages it has given the community and the prepara
tion it has given its pupils for their life work.

It has given them especial training in the literary
branches but in addition has given them the choice
of thirteen trades.

Being located near the center of a rich agricul
tural belt it has laid emphasis upon the Agricul
tural Department.

Farming is the chief industry of the people and
it was realized that a very large per cent of the
graduates would turn to the soil, so it was deter
mined to teach them the science of farming so that
they would make better farmers and win from the
land larger and more diversified crops. It has
been slow work to teach the pupils the advantage
of scientific farming over the old methods but the

leaven is beginning to work and ere long the whole
community will see the advantage of the Scientific
method.

The school has a large acreage of land (about
2000 acres and considerable industrial equipment.
It hs twenty-one buildings and a property valua
tion of about $90,000. Its organization com
prises Elementary, Industrial and Agriculture. The
elementary work covers eight years, divided into
primary school of six years, and the preparatory
and junior classes of one year each. There are
four upper classes which include some elementary
subjects, called "B middle," "A middle," "Senior
preparatory" and "Senior."

The secondary subjects are english, chemistry,
physics, biology, agriculture, geometry, algebra,
civil government, moral philosophy, school man
agement and psychology.

In the Industrial department is taught carpentry,
blacksmithing, printing, leather work, masonry,
tailoring and commercial.

In the agricultural department the chief thing
taught is agriculture.

To this school its founder and principal has given
his entire time, his best thought and his physical
strength. In its development he has not spared
himself. He has traveled far and wide in its inter
est and has often been heard on the platform in its
behalf. Possessing oratorical powers he has been
much in demand as a speaker which has given him
many opportunities to keep his school before the
public. His theory is that a teacher should ever
be a student and acting upon this theory he at
tends the summer school at Chicago, Harvard and
other places.

Snow Hill Institute has been conducted in such
a manner as to win the confidence and respect of
the entire community, white and black alike.

41

RICHARD BYRON HUDSON, A. B.

OR a score or more of years few
activities in any kind of up-lift
work have existed either in Ala
bama or elsewhere among color
ed people without the enthusiastic
support of R. B. Hudson, of Sel-
ma, Alabama. He has been prominent in Sunday
School work, in Baptist Church work, in Masonic
Lodge, and in the State and National Association
for Colored Teachers, holding at one time or an
other prominent and responsible offices in all of
these bodies.

In working in Alabama. Mr. Hudson is on his na
tive heath. He was born in Uniontown, Alabama,
Feb. 7. 1866. He received his first education in
the Uniontown District Academy. From here he
entered Selma University, whence he received the
Degree of Bachelor of Arts. He has taken Post
Graduate courses in the College of Liberal Arts in
Chatauqua, N. Y.

Like most men of the earlier days, Mr. Hudson
had to work his way through school. In Selma
University he paid for a great deal of his education
by working at the printer's trade, and by tutoring
mathematics. This tutoring led him to choose a
life career. From tutoring he went to teaching in

Selma University, where he taught mathematics
from 1889 to 1890.

Of course Prof. Hudson is best known in the
State of Alabama and in the educational world
through the Clark School of Selma. This is known
throughout the State as one of the best kept build
ings and one in which some of the most thorough
teaching is done anywhere in the South. Inspec
tors, State Supervisors, and State Superintendents
all point to Clark School as a model public school.

As has been already stated, Prof. Hudson has
been a leader in many Secret Orders, in the Church
and Sunday School throughout his career. He is
a member of the Knights of Pythias, a Woodman,
a Mason, and an Odd Fellow. He has been both
President and Secretary of the Alabama State
Teachers Association and County Chairman of the
Alabama Colored Teachers' Association. He is Sec
retary of the State Baptist Convention and of the
National Baptist Convention. He is President of
. the District Sunday School Convention, and a mem
ber of the Executive Board of the Federal Council
of Churches of America. He was delegate to the
World's Missionary Conference which met in Ed
inburgh, Scotland, in 1910. He is Endowment
Treasurer of the Endowment Department of the
Masonic Grand Lodge of Alabama.

During the recent war troubles Mr. Hudson has
been Chairman of the Food Conservation Commit
tee of Dallas County, and Chairman of the Red
Cross for Colored people of Dallas County.

For many years he was the close personal friend
of the late great leader of the race, Dr. Booker T.
Washington. It seemed a great pleasure to Dr.
Washington for him to speak of the high esteem
in which he held Prof. Hudson. On one occasion
Dr. Washington writing the "Colored Alabamian,"
a paper then published at Montgomery, said : "I
want to thank you most earnestly and heartily for
your publishing the picture and sketch of the life
of Prof. R. B. Hudson, of Selma, Ala. I am afraid
that the people of Alabama do not appreciate the
real worth and ability of Prof. Hudson in the way
they should. He has shown himself to be a leader
of rare ability and especially a clear-headed sys
tematic thinker and worker.

The main purpose of this letter is to impress
upon the people of our State the fact that we have
a man in our midst, a man of such rare ability, and
I repeat that you are to be congratulated for pre
senting him before the public through the medium
of your paper."

Prof. Hudson was married in 1890 to Miss Lula
C. Richardson who died in 1898. He was married
in 1900 to Miss Irene M. Thompson. Mr. Hudson
has two children. Misses E. Leola and Bernice
Hudson, the former is a graduate of Spellman Sem
inary, Atlanta, Ga., and Pratt Institute, Brooklyn,
N. Y. She is at present a teacher in the Florida
A. & M. College at Tallahassee, Fla. The latter is
still a student.

42

REV. JOHN WASHINGTON GOODGAME.

N Birmingham, Alabama, out on
Avenue F., stands a monumental
Baptist Church. The engravings
on the corner stones outside re
cord the names of laborers, busi
ness and professional men who
joined hands to make this building
the splendid edifice that it is. It
has its big pipe organ, its animated well trained
choir, its pastor's study, its spacious galleries as
well as its big audience room. It cost $50,000 when
it was built, now valued at $80,000. Its organization,
its distribution of workers, is exceptional. It has of
course its auxiliary clubs among the women, its
young people's societies, its deacons' board and the
like. But above all it has a regular man, in ad
dition to the pastor, whose business it is to visit
the sick and the needy and to collect funds and
minister to their relief. The man behind all this
work, who raised the funds, very largely from
working people ; who in person superintended the
construction of the building is Rev. John Washing
ton Goodgame.

Rev. Goodgame was born in the country, some
years after the civil war, and while performing his
farm duties he had time for calm meditation, lie
was a poor lad with no very inspiring environ
ments ; he was without money, and to boys with
out grit and ambition, his situation would have ap
peared hopeless. Not so with Rev. Goodgame.

He was ambitious to learn and he determined to
secure an education and he turned difficulties in to
propellers to bring him to his goal.

God had raised him up for leadership and whom
God calls to service He prepares for the work to
be done.

Without money but with a consciousness that
he would succeed, he entered Talladega College in
1885 and spent his first year in college in the work
department. He finally completed his Grammar
and Normal courses and entered the Theological
department. While pursuing the theological
course he served the country churches in and
around Talladega as pastor, later accepting a call
to his home church in Talladega.

He was next called to pastor the leading Baptist
church of Anniston for a few years and then came
to Birmingham, his present home.

Members of the Baptist church felt that a school
should be started around Birmingham. Who was
there so fit to blaze the way as J. W. Goodgame,
the man who never failed in business as well as in
religion. Thus Birmingham Baptist College was
launched with Rev. Goodgame at the head of the
board of trustees, as the real sponsor for the insti
tution.

The Alabama Baptist State Convention elected
him treasurer, and the Mosaic Templars placed up
on him the task of carrying the money for its or
ganization. This then is the load he carries — the
personal interest of two Baptist institutions the
exchequer of the iMosaic Templars and of the Ala
bama State Baptist Convention and the charge of a
big city church. To this have been added many
other responsibilities. He was stock holder and
one of the directors of the Alabama Penny Savings
Bank and one time secretary of the Atlanta, Bir
mingham Mutual Aid Association, the latter an in
surance company which flourished under his ad
ministration and which was recently merged with
another company.

Unlike many ministers, Rev. Goodgame has
changed pastorates but seldom, preferring to build
substantially in one place. Growing as Birming
ham grew he has had opportunity to judge prop
erty and to invest wisely. He owns, thanks to his
business acumen, nine rent houses, and eight va
cant lots in this city of high priced property.

All this time Rev. Goodgame has been rearing and
educating a large family. He was married to Miss
Mollie Bledsoe in 1890. Five children, now all
practically grown and well educated form the
Goodgame family. Miss Fannie B. is a graduate
of the Talladega Normal course and of Selma Uni
versity ; Miss Minnie of the Barber Seminary, An
niston, Alabama; Miss Jennie of Cheney Institute,
Penn. ; Miss Lucile, a senior, 1917. at Normal, Ala
bama ; Mr. John Washington, Jr., a student at the
State Normal School in Montgomery, Alabama.
Miss Fannie B. who is now Fannie B. Kastland was
teacher for several years, having taught in the
Birmingham C'itv Schools a number of terms.

To protect himself and his family, as well as to
further good causes, Rev. Goodgame is a Mason, a
Knight of Pythias, and a Mosaic Templar. Few
men are harder workers and more optimistic in
both religion and race progress than is Rev. John
W. Goodgame of Birmingham, Alabama.

REV. PRICE S. LENTON HUTCHINS.

HE REV. PRICE S. LENTON
HUTCHINS, of Mobile, Alabama,
is the seventh child of Reuben and
Sylvia Hutchins. He was born in
Cowikee, Barbour County, Ala
bama, October 13th. 1862.. At
_ . . ^ ^. an early age he was given to his
grandparents who sent him to school and did every
thing to encourage his intellectual growth. But
his grandparents died and he was returned to his
parents. They were poor and unable to send him
to school. Accordingly he was put on the farm
where he worked with his body but. his mind was in
the school room he had left. His thirst for know
ledge was satisfied to a small extent by a white
playmate and co-laborer, Mr. Walter T. Harwell,
but he soon passed beyond the information that his
teacher could impart and he was again facing the
problem of where to turn for an education . This
young man's development was not one sided for
along with the development of the mind and body
he was not neglectful of the spirit. At an early age
he was converted and was baptized into the fellow
ship of the Pleasant Grove Baptist church, Eu-
faula, Alabama, by the Rev. Jerry Short. Re
ligion became the dominant factor in his life which
finally led him into the ministry.

June 12th. 1882 he was licensed by his church to
preach, but dissatisfied with his preparation for
his work he entered the Selma University Febru

ary 3rd. 1884 where he finished a two years Eng
lish course and received his certificate for same
from Rev. E. M. Brawley D. D., President.

Four years later, 1890, he graduated with honors
from the Collegiate Course under C. L. Puree, D. D.
having taken at the same time a partial course in
Theology under C. S. Dinkins, D. D., and C'. I.. Fish
er, receiving the equivalent of a year's Seminary
work in Church History, Theology, New Testa
ment, Greek and Old Testament Hebrew. He con
tinued his study of Hebrew under Rabbi E. M. B.
Brown, Columbus, Ga., who speaks of his work in
the highest terms. Among his pastorates was the
Bethlehem Church, Gallion and the First Baptist
Church of Newberne, Alabama. He served both
churches seven years and built a house of worship
for each costing more than $2000.00.

The recorded number of his baptisms during
these pastorates was over five hundred. Septem
ber 28th, 1891, he baptized into the fellowship of
the First Baptist Church, Newberne, one hundred
and twenty-eight persons in one hour and thirty
minutes.

June 3rd. 1897 he became Pastor of one of the
largest churches in Columbus, Ga., and during his
period of service he added to its membership 185
members and reduced a debt upon the church sev
eral thousand dollars. He also served the Taber
nacle Baptist Church of Eufaula and the First Bap
tist Church of Hurtsboro, Alabama, as pastor and
was serving these churches when called to Franklin
Street Baptist Church, Mobile, which church he is
now serving. His call to the Franklin Street Bap
tist Church was extended August 2nd, 1917, and
was unanimous. This church is one of the leading
Baptist Churches in the State and he enters upon
his work under the most favorable conditions. He
has already endeared himself to the members of
the church and is held in high esteem by the entire
community.

It has been his good fortune to retain the con
fidence and love of the people he served, an evi
dence of work well done. In addition to his Pas
torates, Rev. Hutchins, has held a number of of
ficial positions in his denomination. He is a life
member of the National Baptist Convention and a
strong supporter of all its interests ; a Trustee of
the Selma University, Selma, Alabama, and of Cen
tral City College, Macon, Ga.

He served as Sunday School State Missionary
under joint appointment of the National Baptist
Publication Board and the State Sunday School
Board, and as State Organizer for Georgia under
joint appointment of National B. Y. P. U.,- and
State B. Y. P. U. Boards.

Rev. Hutchins is a man of family and is blessed
with a wife devoted to his interests and the proud
mother of eight children. These bring joy and sun
shine to his home and has inspired that economy
in the conduct of his affairs that has enabled him to
accumulate a nice property.

His possessions are scattered from Alabama to
New York and consist of improved and vacant city
lots and farm property. Rev. Hutchins is yet com
paratively young. His zenith may not be reach
ed for years ; many more such startling strides as
he has made in the past thirteen years, will lift him
easily to the rank of ministerial wonders.

44

JOHN A. KENNEY, M. D.

OHN A. KENNEY, M. D., was
born June 11, 1874, in Albemarle
County, Virginia. Here he lived
on the farm and did the work of
a farm lad, enjoying at the same
time the pleasures that come to
those who live in the country, till he was sixteen
years of age. During the last two years of that
time he was practically the head of the family, run
ning the farm which his father left to his care and
also the grocery store which his father had kq)t
during his life time. Although born on the farm and
although he remained for such a number of years
in the country, his mother had other plans for him.
She inspired him with the ambition to live his life
away from the narrowing effect of the farm life,
away out in the world where he could make him
self felt.

After spending a great deal of time in the pub
lic schools of Albemarle County and Charlottsville
he went to Hampton Institute, Virginia and later
to Shaw University, North Carolina. In order to
attend school he had also to work. Nothing that
would turn an honest penny was turned down by
this ambitious young man. He worked as a waiter,
he worked in the family of one of the professors
of the University or Virginia, and he kept grocery

store. After leaving Shaw University Dr. Kenney
went to Leonard Medical College from which he
was graduated with the degree M. D. in 1901.

This was the beginning of Dr. Kenney's real
career. He served the first year as interne at
Freedmen's Hospital, Washington, District of Col
umbia and then came to Tuskegee Institute. At
Tuskegee he is Medical Director of the Tuskegee
Institute Hospital and Nurse Training School. For
the past sixteen years Dr. Kenney has labored in
this field and the work has grown steadily under
his management. When he took the work there
was a frame hospital, not very well equipped and
not large enough to accommodate the number of
patients that come to Tuskegee. During his stay
the John A. Andrew Memorial Hospital has been
built, and the Nurse Training Course strengthened.
The hospital is well equipped and the nurses turn
ed out are efficient.

While developing the material side of the work
at Tuskegee, Dr. Kenney has himself developed
in skill. He is now looked upon as one of the lead
ing surgeons of the race and people from all over
the south come to Tuskegee to John A. Andrew
Memorial Hospital in order to have Dr. Kenney op
erate on them. This is true fame — that speads from
one patient to another and brings more work,
which in turn means added skill.

The profession will probably know Dr. Kenney
best as Secretary of the National Medical Asso
ciation. In this position he served for eight years
in succession. He then gave up the work because
he was over worked. Contrary to his expreseed
wishes he was unanimously elected in 1912 as pres
ident of -the National Medical Association
Dr. Kenney with Dr. C. V. Roman of Nashville
Tennessee founded the Journal of the National
Medical Association. This is today one of the most
important publications among the Colored People
and it takes high rank as a professional journal.
What tliis periodical is today and in fact very large
ly what the National Medical Association is today
is due to the energies and unbounded faith of Dr.
Kenney. At the last meeting of the N. M. A. in
Richmond, Va., 1918, Dr. Kenney by action of the
Executive Board was made editor-in-chief and
manager of the Journal.

Since entering the medical profession he has done
constructive work.

Dr. Kenney had direct charge of the health of Dr.
Booker T. Washington during all the years he was
in Tuskegee. During the last years of Dr. Wash
ington's life Dr. Kenney spent a great deal of time
with him, accompanying him on the various trips
made over the South'. It is a source of great pride
to Dr. Kenney that when Dr. Washington, ill in
the hospital in New York was examined by famous
specialists they said that Dr. Kenney had done all
that any one could have done for the great educa
tor.

Dr. Kenney was married to Miss Alice Talbot of
Bedford County, Virginia in Dec- 27. 1902- Dr.
Kenney was married a second time to Miss Frieda
V. Armstrong of Boston, Massachusetts, in 1913.
There are three small sons, John A. Kenney, Jr.,
Oscar Armstrong Kenney and Howard Washington
Kenney.

45

GEORGE W. LEWIS, A. M., D. D.

E who is inclined to grow doubtful
of rare strength, scholarship,
force, personality should look up
on a company of Methodist Minis
ters and Bishops. Gathered in
convention they make a grand

substitute for an assembly of

statesmen. They are grave and scholarly, stal-
warth of physique, pictures of health and prosperi
ty. They are analysts and orators and logicians
with splendid touches of the visionary. Dr. George
W. Lewis A. M., D. D. is one of these Methodist
Episcopal peers. There are few riper scholars, few
er better orators than he.

Dr. Lewis is a thorough going Georgian. He
was born in Burke County shortly after slavery.
He was born during the reconstruction period after
the war when the efforts of the South were direct
ed mainly in caring for the body and but little at
tention was given to the development of the mind.
It was a day of poor schools, unprepared teachers
and short school terms. The opportunities for the
negroes to obtain an education were but meager
but the very difficulties in their way acted as a spur
to the ambitious and developed a number of strong
men intellectually.

Dr. Lewis was among this number. When a
mere boy Dr. Lewis started life as a farm laborer
which he followed for sixteen years but during this
period he attended school two or three months each
year.

The activity of the mind would not permit him to
remain on the farm so he left the farm and attend
ed the Haven Normal School at Waynesborough,
Ga. Here his real development began. Here the
leading of his mind and heart decided his future.
Here he was converted and here he responded to
the call to the ministry.

From Haven Norman school at Waynesborough
he went to Clark University at Atlanta and after
finishing his course of study there he turned to the
study of theology in Gammon Seminary in the
same University.

After completing his theological course he took
up the active duties of Pastor and served a num
ber -of churches in his active native State. He join
ed the Savannah Conference at Augusta, Ga., and
was sent to Mt. Vernon church. From Mt. Vernon
he went to Readsville, from Readsville to Valdosta,
thence to Atlanta and from Atlanta to Rome.

In 1895 Dr. Lewis was transferred to the Ala
bama Conference and served churches in Mont
gomery, Mobile and in Pensacola. Fla.

It was during his residence in Florida that Dr.
Lewis branched out. in educational work.

Seeing a grave need for a school in Pensacola
he set his mind to work to supply it and in 1901 he
founded the Pensacola Normal, Industrial and Agri
cultural school. For nine years he was the Prin
cipal of this school, shaping' its policies and giving
it the benefit of his rare gifts as an orator. He
possessed in a remarkable degree the powers of
oratory which greatly aided him in raising monev
for his enterprises, a work in which he succeeded
to a most satisfactory degree.

His talent as an orator and writer brought him
into great prominence and his services were sought
from all over the country. For stirring and search
ing addresses, such as are required on memorial
and emancipation occasions, he probably has no
equal on the platform of today. He has delivered
addresses of this character at Montgomery, at Mo
bile, at Evergreen, at Tampa and at Pensacola,
many of which at the request of his hearers were
printed and distributed.

Dr. Lewis was frequent!}' elected to represent the
M. E. Conference at the General Conference. He
was a delegate to the Omaha General Conference
in 1894 and to the conference at Saratoga in 1916.
For years he has been the Secretary of his Annual
Conference and chairman of the Old Ministers
fund. His brethren were not slow to recognize in
him a wise leader a man of sound judgment and
one whose devotion to religion and education and
unexcelled oratory gave him unbounded influence
among them. He won their confidence early in his
ministerial life and still holds it in a most flatter
ing degree.

Dr. Lewis family consists of a wife and one child,
a daughter who has inherited his mental vigor.

He married in 1889 Miss Lucy Griffin, of Tusca-
lonsa, Ala. Their daughter, Miss Emma C. Lewis,
received her B. A. degree from Clark University,
Atlanta, Ga.. and wears it with as much ease and
grace as the average man. At present she is teach
ing in New Orleans University.

While the church is his chief consideration Dr.
Lewis is also interested in the benevolent orders of
his people and has membership in the Masons and
Knights of Phythias.

46

HENRY ALLEN LOVELESS.

MONG the foremost colored citi
zens of Alabama is Henry Allen
Loveless of Montgomery who
has proved to his people that they
can make a marked success in
their business ventures and still

preserve the respect and esteem of the entire com
munity, both white and black.

Mr. Loveless was born in Bullock County, Ala
bama in the year 1854 near the town of Union

] le had no educational advantages until he reach
ed his eighteenth year. Spending the day in man
ual labor he attended a night school which gave
him the foundation upon which he built to a limit
ed extent.

Some years after his first marraige he attended
the Selma University but for only two terms. At
the end of the second term he returned home to
arrange his business matters so that he could com
plete his course but found that the requirements of
his business were such that he had to forego his
plans for a finished education.

His first business was that of a butcher which
he plied for several years but gave up to enter the
Undertaking business. Here he had to meet strong
competition from a long established business

controlled by a member of his race who had much
influence "with' the colored people.

He saw the difficulties in his way but instead of
deterring him they nerved him to push forward.

Meeting competition upon fair grounds he forged
to the front and not only built up the large busi
ness over which he now presides but finally pur
chased the business of his competitor.

He has been in this business for twenty-five years
which together with its adjuncts is easily valued
at $25,000.00. In connection with his undertaking
business he runs a transfer and hack line and has
among his patrons a number of white citizens.

His business has brought him a comfortable liv
ing and enabled him to secure a home worth ten
thousand dollars. In addition it has enabled him
to give employment to a great many of his people.

Mr. Loveless is a deeply religious man and takes
an active part in his church life.

He has been connected with the Dexter Avenue
Baptist church from its organization and is its lead
ing deacon. He is also the Church Treasurer and
a member of the Board of Trustees. The minis
ters who have served the church have always
found in him a friend and helper.

Mr. Loveless' activities do not end with his
church and his business. He has countless affilia
tions with various other bodies and is interested in
the educational interests of his people.

He is a King Solomon Mason, Knights of Py
thias, member of Wm. J. Simmons Lodge, No. 34,
the Eastern Star, Knights of Tabor, Eureka Lodge
of the Mosaic Templars, Sisters and Brothers of
Tabor, Daughters and Sons of Zera, and the United
Order of Good Shepherds. He has held office in a
number of these orders.

He is a member of the Negro business men's
league, Treasurer of the Alabama Realty Company
and a Trustee of the Swayne school of Montgom
ery.

Mr. Loveless has been married three times. He
married his first wife, Miss Lucy Arrington of
Montgomery, in 1885. She died after bearing him
five children, three of whom are living. His son
John H. Loveless and daughters, Miss Mary G.
and Bertha L. Loveless, are associated with him in
his business and have contributed no little to his
success.

In 1913 he married Mrs. Emma A. Anderson,
who lived but a short while with him when death
claimed her.

His present wife, formerly Mrs. Dora Evelyn,
was married to him in 1916. She was a resident of
Eufaula, Ala.

Mr. Loveless is a successful man and in sum
ming up his traits of character which con
tributed to his success we would mention first his
quiet, courteous but positive demeanor. He never
gets unduly excited but is not slow to take in a
situation and to face it with a calm determination
which impresses others that he means business.
He is a just man and honest which gives him a
good standing in the business world. Then he is
sympathetic, helpful and dependable and above all
is recognized as an humble Christian.

47

REVEREND WILLIAM MADISON.

HEN asked for matter for a bio
graphical sketch, Rev. Wm. Madi
son sent in such scant material
that the required length for a
page was 'lot to be gotten. When
asked for matter for his church,
the matter came in so freely that it had to be con
densed. Such is the modesty of the man that he
takes to himself very little of the credit for the
very splendid church which he built and which
under his administration has grown by leaps and
bounds. But the church is a reflection of his
boundless energy and great business ability.

Rev. Madison was born in Marion, Dallas County,
Alabama, in 1873. As a small boy and as a young
man, he toiled in the cotton and corn fields on a
Dallas County plantation. Here he received his
early training in the public schools. Whatever the
schools of the country may have failed to give him
in accurate book knowledge was more than made
up by the ambition which filled him because of this
contact with books and thoughts. He felt most
keenly the preparation that he needed to make him
self happy, and at the same time render those about
him glad. He entered Selma University in 1905,

and was graduated in the class of 1910 at the head
of the class in the Theological Department. This
gave him the place of valedictorian. This and other
honors bestowed upon him by his Alma Mater be
speak his life and conduct as a school boy and his
efficiency as a student.

Rev. Wm. Madison has climbed all the way from
the bottom to the top of his profession. He is at
present and has been for some time pastor of the
Day Street Baptist Church, Montgomery, Alabama.
This church represents the capstone in his career
as the builder of splendid houses of worship. Be
ginning his ministry back in his home village of
Marion, Alabama, he has raised and put into
churches $45,000.00. He has built churches at Un-
-iontown, Sawyerville, Grove Hill and Montgomery.

In the meantime he has pastored, held evangelis
tic services, baptized thousands, held conspicuous
offices in his church and denominational bodies,
been orator and Commencement speaker at many
important school celebrations and gatherings and
traveled extensively over the country as preacher
and worker.

Rev. Madison did not get his fame as a speaker
and able builder without a struggle. Leaving Sel
ma University, he followed the profession of school
teaching in both Dallas and Hale counties. Later
he studied bookkeeping and was a bookkeeper for
five years. In filling these two posts he got for
himself experiences that were destined to be of
untold good to him in his pastoral work later. His
five years spent in bookkeeping cannot be underes
timated as to the good effect they have had on the
building and organizing of churches. At the age of
twenty-two, Rev. Madison was ordained and he
has held a most constructive career in his church
ever since. He has followed the circuit of his na
tive state, having occupied pulpits at Marion, Un-
iontown, Sawyerville, Lanesville, Newberne, Jack
son, Grove Hill, Birmingham and his present post
in Montgomery.

The great work that Rev. Madison is doing in
Montgomery is recorded elsewhere under the
sketch of Day Street Baptist Church. He is well
known as a leader, for his executive skill and also
for his ability to follow details. Rev. Madison has
for years occupied high places in his church and in
secular and fraternal bodies, lie is a member of
the Allen Temple Lodge, of the Knights of Py-
thians and of the Good Shepherds. In his church,
which is missionary Baptist he has served as
Treasurer of the Publishing Board; chairman of
the State Mission Board; Treasurer of the Selma
Alumni Association; President of the Baptist Min
isters Conference of Montgomery and Member of
the National Baptist Convention.

Rev. Madison was married in 1899 to Miss Mary
Soloman of Saffold. Alabama. There are six chil
dren in the Madison family, all of whom are at
tending school.

DAY STKKKT I'.AITIST CHURCH.

KK1XG what they considered a
great need of another church in
the City of Montgomery, in 1884,
Mr. T. 1-1. Garner and Mr. Ed-
ward I'atterson secured the ser
vices of Rev. J. C. Casby, organiz
ed a church and erected a frame building in which
to serve God. Thus we have Day Street Baptist
Church, one of the best managed institutions of
its kind in the South. Among the ministers who
administered to the needs of the people from the
pulpit of Day Street Baptist Church, who deserve
special mention in these pages is Rev. T. C. ("room.
who took charge of the church in 1894 and pastor-
ed it till his death in 1906. During his administra
tion the membership was greatly increased and the
church building remedied and enlarged. Succeed
ing Rev. Croom. Rev. T. J. Flood gave the rest of
liis life to the development of the Day Street Bap
tist Church. Mis pastorate was a short one, last-
ting but one year and four months. During this
short time he raised $1200 for the new church. At
the death of Rev. Flood, Rev. Win. Madison was
chosen leader of this flock..

The church business is administered by the Pas
tor and Board of Trustees, composed of T. II. Gar
ner, M. I). Easterly, C. Posey, J. J. Ncal, C. Lewis,
Morris Smith, F. S. Starks, Mathew Wallace and
J. S. Gregory.

The present structure was completed in 1910.
The Pastor supervised the building of it and rais
ed the money for its erection. It cost $36,000. but

with the lot is valued at $50.000. The church also
owns a parsonage valued at $3,000.

Rev. Madison has changed the entire system of
running the affairs of the church. This was done
in 19C9. It has been put on a business basis. He
incorporated the church holdings on a capitaliza
tion of $25,000.

While directing the finances of the church the
Rev. Madison has not eebn unmindful of its activi
ties. He believes in a division of work and respon
sibilities and has divided up the work so as to get
the highest results. The Sunday School with an
excellent teaching force is placed in the hands of
J. J. Neal, the superintendent. The Baptist Young
People's Union is in charge of Miss Lula Mattox,
the President. The Woman's Missionary Society
is presided over by Mrs. A. Easterly, while the Ju
nior Missionary Society is committed to Miss Al-
metta Goldsmith.

In addition to these there is a Dorcas Sewing
Circle for girls from four to twelve years of age.
This circle makes garments for poor children
Then there is a Cadet Department for boys from
four to sixteen years of age.

The Sun Beam Band is under the direction of
Mrs. Mary Taylor and is composed of children
from four to eight years of age. Fnally there is
the Cooks, Washerwomen and Porters Club, under
direction of Mrs. Laura Hollis. President, the ob
ject of which is to promote efficiency along these
lines. In connection therewith an employment bu
reau is operated with great success.

49

Robert Lee Mabry

OBERT LEE MABRY was born in
Tuscaloosa, Alabama October 1st
1874, and at an early age moved
with his parents to Birmingham,
Alabama. Here in Birmingham,
he received the foundation for his
education through the excellent
school system of the city. After finishing his course
in the city public schools of Birmingham he entered
the Tuskegee Institute for the final touches. While
taking the Academic work he specialized in the
Tailoring division of the Institute. Having to de
pend upon his own efforts for paying his tuition
he learned to take advantage of his opportunity and
applied himself diligently to his studies and con
sequently left the Institute thorough1)- equipped for
his life work.

He spent his first year after graduating at the
Tuskegee Institute in teaching but his inclination
and gift did not lead him into that profession so he
seized upon the first opening to enter a business of
his liking.

He was offered a position with the People's Tail
oring Company which he promptly accepted and
which was the beginning of a career which has
brought him reputation and financial success.

While in College he took orders for clothing
from his fellow students and in his new position the
experience he thus gained stood him well in hand
and made his work comparatively easy.

While the connection with the People's Tailoring
Company was pleasant he decided to sever his con
nection for purposes of his own. He aspired to
head a business himself so in 1898 he formed a par
tnership with four other salesmen and opened a
cleaning and pressing shop at No. 103 North 19th
Street. This partnership continued for only a
short time when Mr. J. W. Taylor and Mr. Mabry
purchased the other's interest and became the sole
proprietors of the business. Even this arrange
ment was unsatisfactory to Mr. Mabry who was
ambitious to have absolute control of the business
which he finally acquired, and associated with him
his brother. Since that time the business has been
known as the "Mabry Brothers."

In the conduct of his business Mr. Mabry has
proved a most excellent executive and by close at
tention and honest service has built up a trade
which enables him to live and lay up in store
against the day of adversity.

His investments are mostly in real estate and
real estate mortgages and here as in the conduct
of his business his good judgment directed him
unerringly. Mr. Mabry is fortunate in having a
help meet who is in sympathy with his purposes

50

and plans and whose wise economy has aided in his
effort to accumulate an independence.

His wife was Miss Nettie Faith of Mobile and
they were married in Birmingham August 23rd.
1899.

The issue of this marriage is an only son who is
now attending the Public Schools of Birmingham.
It is the ambition of Mr. Mabry to give this boy a
fine education and fit him for some useful occupa
tion in life. Like most men who have struggled
for an education he knows its value and has learn
ed that it is necessary to any marked degree of
success along any endeavor.

Mr. Mabry is something of a traveler and his
travels have carried him over a large portion of the
United States. He has visited practica'ly all of the
Southern States, the Middle Atlantic States and in
New England and has lived in Alabama, Tennessee
and New Jersey.

Mr. Mabry is a religious man and in affiliation a
Baptist. He became a member of the church in
1906 and in his church life as in his business life he
was not content to be a passive member.

His membership is in the 16th Street Baptist
church where he is actively engaged in religious
work.

Mr. Mabry is greatly interested in the welfare
of his people as is evidenced by the fact that he is
connected with a number of orders which seek
their uplift.

He is a member of the Knights of Pythias, An
cient Free and Accepted Masons, Knights and
Ladies of Honor of America, the Eastern Star,
United Order of Odd Fellows and of the I. B. P.
O. E.

His worth as an executive has been recognized
by these different orders in which he has advanced,
to official distinction from time to time.

At this time he is Most Worshipful Master of the
Free and Accepted Masons, Past Exalted Ruler of
the 1. B. P. O. E. and Past Grand Director of the
Knights and Ladies of Honor of America. He is
also the Grand Master of, the Exchequer of the
Knights of Pythias.

Possibly Mr. Mabry's chief characteristic is his
love of his fellow man and he never tires in his en
deavors in their behalf. He gives of himself and
his means to their service and it is this which ac
counts for his great influence and popularity.

"Forget thyself; console the sadness near thee,

Thine own shall then depart,
And songs of joy, like heavenly birds, shall
cheer thee,

And dwell within thv heart."

GEORGE E. NEWSTELL.

HE only Negro dry goods mer
chant in Montgomery, Ala. wor
thy of the name is George E.
Newstell. Mr. Newstell keeps his
store on Monroe Street, in the
Newstell building, meaning that
the building is owned by the merchant. Here one
sees clothing for men and women as attractively
displayed as they are in the big stores up town.

Mr. Newstell is out and out a product of the city
in which he does business. He was born here, at
tended the Swayne school here, and has made all
his ventures in business here. Graduating from the
Swayne school in 1886. Mr. Newstell began his
career as a porter in a store working for $2.50 per
week. On completing three years as a porter he
was promoted to manager at a salary of $15 per
week. From this post he went to another at a larg
er salary. By this time he had accumulated money
and bought property. As he rose in the business
world and gained insight into the workings of bus
iness he decided to launch out for himself. This
he finally did, buying out his former employers.

He continued in this business for some years and
by giving it his personal and close attention he not

only added to his wealth but gained additional bus
iness knowledge which enabled him to score a
marked success in his last and present business
venture.

Mr. Newstell has very decided convictions re
garding business ventures. He holds that one
should engage in a business which appeals first to
his inclination and for which he has an aptitude,
and even then he should give the matter close
consideration before he comes to a decision.

Following this rule he considered various
branches of trade and decided in favor of the dry
goods business. It had been his rule to study from
the ground up every business into which he enter
ed but in the selection of the dry goods business he
entered a field entirely new to him, but to which
he brought his general knowledge of business and
ripe, experience in other lines.

The rapid development of the Newstell Dry
Goods Store is a tribute to his business sagacity
no less than to his great popularity.

In addition to his dry goods business, Mr. New
stell carries on a Real Estate business under the
firm name of Newstell and Beverly. Here again
he showed his business sense. Before venturing
this field of operations he studied the business for
two and a half years under two competent and
practical teachers and even then he moved slowly
until he had mastered it.

Few men have been wiser and more fortunate
in their investment. Thirty years in business have
yielded him, besides a comfortable living for him
self and family, and besides his dry goods and fur
nishing store, ownership of property valued at ap
proximately $10,000. His income from rents is
about $250 per month. This he attributes to two
main sources; first, a loyal and very helpful wife;
second, the careful study of a business before mak
ing investments.

Success in business has brought to Mr. Newstell
honors in many other walks of life. For fifteen
years he has been an Executive officer in the order
of the Knights and Daughters of Tabor. He is a
Mason, Odd Fellow, a Knight of Pythias. He has
been a member of Endowment Board of the
Knights of Pythias, and is at present treasurer of
the Odd Fellows of Alabama. He is chairman of
the Board of Trustees of Mt. Zion A. M. E. Church,
a trustee of the Lomax-Hannon Industrial School
of Greenville, Ala., a trustee of the Swayne school
of Montgomery, and chairman of the Republican
county Executive committee of Montgomery
County.

Mr. Newstell was married in 1894 to Miss Belle
Saunders of Montgomery County. It is worth re
peating, as Mr. Newstell never tires of repeating,
that much of this man's success is due to her.

51

ALBERT FRANKLIN OWENS, D. D.

EASURED from the depths whence
he came and the heights he has at
tained Dr. A. F. Owens is one of
the most remarkable men of the
race- Born a slave fifty-six years
ago in Wilcox county, Alabama,
and left an orphan at six years of
age, he has steadily climbed from
the position of a boy porter in a book store in New
Orleans, Louisiana, to the post of Dean of the Theo
logical Department of Selma University, Selma
Alabama.

Dr. Owens early education was picked up in night
schools while he worked for a living during the
day. Soon he began to teach and preach in St.
Landry Parish, Lousiana. Realizing the need of
better preparation for the work of the ministry,
he entered Leland University, New Orleans, in
1873. and finished in 1877.

From the first of his career Dr. Owens has been
interested in newspaper work. While attending
the University, he edited the "Baptist Messenger,"
the organ of the State Convention in Missionary
work in Louisiana. In 1885 he was editor of the
"Baptist Pioneer," the official organ of the Alabama
Baptist State Convention. Because of his exper
ience as a journalist he is now a special corres
pondent for the great white dailies published in
Mobile, Montgomery, and Birmingham.

Dr. Owens has pastored in such cities as Mobile,
and Montgomery. He is no less an educator, hav

ing served as a Trustee and teacher of Selma Uni
versity. After resigning his pastorate in Mobile
in 1906, he accepted the position of Dean of the
Theological Department of Selma University
where he remained until 1908, when he accepted a
similar post in the Phelps Hall Bible Training
School, of Tuskegee Institute. In 1913 Dr. Owens
returned to his former work at Selma University
where he is now located.

During the year 1911, Dr. Owens representing
the State Federation of Colored Women's clubs,
went before the Alabama Legislature and secured
an appropriation of $8,000 for the Mt. Meigs Re
formatory for colored boys and induced the legisla
ture to incorporate that reform school as a state in
stitution. Up to this time it had been supported
wholly by the colored women of the state by whom
it was organized. The following letter will show
something of the labors and the esteem in which
Dr. Owens is held by the white people of Mobile, —
The Mobile Register.

GOVERNOR O'NEAL'S TRIBUTE TO DR.
A. F. OWENS.
Birmingham, Ala., June, 1918.

During my administration as Governor I be
came acquainted with Dr. A. F. Owens, lie ren
dered me very active and efficient service in se
curing the passage of the bill establishing the
Mount Meigs School for the Reformatory of Ju
venile Negro Delinquents. After the establishment
of this institution, I appointed Dr. Owens as one
of the trustees, and came in contact with him very
frequently in many matters affecting the interest
of both races. 1 was deeply impressed with his
broad and liberal culture, his high ideals and his
sincere devotion to the cause of education and the
betterment of both races.

I soon learned to rank him with the lamented
Booker T. Washington and W. H. Council, as a
man who had a clear and comprehensive concep
tion of those measures which would best promote
the most amicable and friendly relation between
the races. I early learned to recognize him as a
man whose councils and teachings if followed,
would create the very cordial and friendly relation
between the races so essential to the interest of
both.

As a public speaker. Dr. Owens has rare gifts
of oratory, is polished and forceful and by his
clear and intelligent conception of public questions
never fails to make an impress upon his auditors.
He is unquestionably a worthy successor of
Washington and Council, and I earnestly believe
his influence will only redound to the benefit of his
own race and to the creation of that cordial rela
tion and the removal of that friction between the
races which is too often the result of ignorance
and prejudice;

Verv respectfully,

EMMET O'NEAL.

When the Spanish-American War broke out.
Dr. Owen rendered valuable service in organizing
the Third Alabama Colored Regiment in Mobile.

Dr. Owens has been twice married. His first
wife, Mrs. Mary Minis Taylor of Mobile, Alabama,
died in 1900. His present wife is Miss Sallie Mae
Pruitt of Leighton, Alabama.

52

1

LAWRENCE L. POWELL

L. POWELL, State Grand Mas
ter Mosaic Templars of America,
was born near Conycrs, Ga., Oct.
1876 and educated in the city of
Atlanta. After spending- his boy
hood days in Atlanta, he decided
to travel. His first stop was in the State of Ala
bama. After some interesting investigation of
many places as to their future worth, Mr. Powell
decided to locate in the Northern part of the state
in the little city of Sheffield, which at this time
seemed the most prominent industrial city. There
he entered the mercantile business and was a suc
cess from the start. He was successful in making
a number of friends not only in Sheffield but in all
the adjacent towns, many of whom he remembers
with gratitude, and many of whom tc> this dav are
his strongest indorsers and supporters in his work
as Grand Master.

He owns some very valuable property in Mont
gomery and Birmingham and is regarded as one
among the Negores who have made good in Ala
bama in the face of many disappointments and
difficulties.

Mr. Powell is identified with many leading
Lodges, the one in which he is most promi
nent being the National Order of the Mosaic Temp
lars. He has been identified with it now for
twenty years and has filled many places of honor
and trust. Slowly he has climbed to the top of this
organization in his state, and today is State Grand
Master of the Alabama Jurisdiction, master over
600 Lodges with a membership of quite 15000.

As to honorary positions few men of his race
have received so many pleasant returns. For eight
years he has represented his state as a delegate at
large in the National Assembly of his order, and
for eight years has been a fraternal delegate to
visit all the Grand Lodges in the National Juris
diction.

In the fall of 1911 he was married to Mrs. Willie
R. Lee, a widow of many splendid qualities, and a
mother of two children, a boy and a girl, both of
whom are making a place for themselves. The
young man Clarence W. Lee has reached his ma
jority and is filling a very important position in the
Mosaic Templars of Alabama. The young woman,
Miss Annie Helen Lee is a student at the State
Normal.

L. L. Powell, State Grand Master of the Na
tional Order of Mosaic Templare of Alabama has
in eight years built from 45 lodges and 900 mem
bers, quite 600 Lodges and 1500 members. This
organization has added many features for the bet
terment of the members : Namely the burial de
partment. When Powell was made State Grand
Master Wm. Alexander (deceased) was the Na
tional Grand Master. Having Wm. Alexander's
friendship and confidence he was able to get Alex
ander's co-operation in many ways. It was pre
dicted by no few that this department would never
be able to sustain itself, but its success the past
several years has proven by careful management a
"Great Boon" to unfortunate members, and today
this department alone receives between nine and
ten thousand dollars annually and is self-sustaining.
This burial department is exclusive of endowment.
It is said that the Mosaics is the only lodge of its
kind that makes the last resting place of its dead.

The Mosaic Lodge was organized in Little Rock
in 1882 by the Hon. J. E. Bush and Hon. C. W.
Keatts. Since date of organization it has entered
thirty-one states and has grand Lodge in South
Africa, Central America and Panama Zone. It has
a total membership of between 80,000 and 100,000.
It has stood every crisis and is said to have more
cash money in hand than any colored organization
of its kind in the world, with no outstanding in
debtedness, having to its credit over a quarter of
a million dollars.

I. T. SIMPSON, B. D., D. D.

R. I. T. SIMPSON is present pas
tor of the African Baptist Church
at Tuscaloosa. Alabama. Dr
Simpson was born in troublous
times, troublous historically and
troublous for Dr. Simpson per
sonally. He was born in the late 50's in Conecuh
County, Alabama.

Even in this enlightened day Conecuh County is
not wholly peppered with school houses. In the
50's, 60's and 70's chances for a black boy to learn
the mere rudiments were exceedingly rare. They
were worse for the Tuscaloosa pastor. Dr. Simp
son was an orphan. Very early in his childhood he
was "bound out", as the phrase used to run. He
was given a sort of stint; namely he had to milk
twelves cows a day and chop an acre of cotton.
When this was done he could go to school as the
case might be. When going to school was not pos
sible he prevailed upon the sons of the man he
was "bound to" to teach him.

Arriving at young manhood, Dr. Simpson set
out for himself. His first real training was received
at the State Normal School in Montgomery, Ala
bama. From Montgomery he entered Selma Uni-

54

versity, finishing from each department in the
school, the last being the Department of Theology
and was later made a trustee of Selma University.
Equipped now for life work, he set out to find
a field. His first charge, as the clergymen speak of
it, was found at Evergreen, the First Baptist
Church near the town. This, while it was the be
ginning of his life work as pastor marked also the
beginning of a round of charges, some very long,
some of comparative short duration. From Ever
green he went to Mt. Arrirat, thence to Selma,
thence to Friendship at Marion. Leaving that sec
tion of the country, he next accepted the pastorate
of the First Baptist Church of Opelika and of the
Rbenezer Baptist Church, of Auburn, Alabama.
Over both of these churches he presided at the
same time, holding Opelika fourteen years and Au
burn ten years.

During the four years of his pastorate at Tus
caloosa, Alabama, where he now presides, Dr.
Simpson has been engaged mainly in raising funds
to complete a handsome brick church. He has been
able to assemble the aid of the white people and
colored people to the extent of raising $17,000 in
four years.

During his pastorate and career, Dr. Simpson
has held many important offices in his denomina
tion in the state. As has been stated he is a trus
tee of Selma University, a place he has held for
twenty years. He was at one time a state mission
ary, and was the state treasurer of the Missionary
Baptist Convention for twelve years. He lifted -a
debt of $2,800 from the Chattanooga Baptist church
in a short pastorate of fifteen months. At present
he is treasurer of the N. \V. Baptist state conven
tion. In his life as a preacher he has baptized
6000 souls.

The Tuscaloosa pastor has tried to make himself
secure for the day when he will no longer be vigor
ous and full of health. He owns a lot in Birming
ham, three lots in Tuscaloosa, where he is now pas-
toring and one lot in Steel City, St. Clair County.

Dr. Simpson has been married more than a quar
ter of a century. His wife was Miss Julia A. Cun
ningham of Bellville, Conecuh County. The fam
ily group is happiest when Dr. F. R. Simpson of
Ensley, the son, runs down to Tuscaloosa for a
short stay with his parents.

To quote Dr. C. O. Boothe in his Alabama Bap
tists, "He (Dr. Simpson) is peculiarly himself and
not another — clear headed, comprehensive, reason
able, self-reliant, genial in his home as well as in
the public harness."

ELIJAH STRONG SMITH.

EGRO insurance is still in its in
fancy. Though the first company
is said to have been established
in 1810, the genuine Negro insur
ance business could not have tak-

:

then, there were vascilations, timidity, mistrust.
The Negro had to be converted to his own. More
over, he had to be educated to the point to be in
sured and he had to develop earning power to pay
the premium. Finally, the aspirant to insurance
business had to be educated to conduct and man
age such an undertaking — an education which one
is inclined to admit the black man came, by clan
destinely, peeping out of the corner of one eye
while dusting the counters or adjusting the ele
vator. ,

Elijah Strong Smith of Tuscaloosa, Alabama,
seems, however, to have been to the manor born, in
insurance as well as in other forms of business.
While yet a boy in his home town, 1 lenderson, Ken
tucky, Mr. Smith was paying his expenses in school
by selling books, and he who can sell books has
already made his business career secure. Finishing
the public school in Henderson, he entered the
State University in Louisville. Again the selling

of books and merchandise furnished the money to
defray the expenses of his education.

Finishing College, Mr. Smith went to Alabama
and joined the Mutual Aid Association of Mobile,
the company over which C. F. Johnson presides.
Finding Mr. Smith already seasoned in business,
much unlike the average school graduate who had
entered the service of the company, Mr. Johnson
sent Mr. Smith to Pratt City to be district agent.
In one year's time the young man had risen from
district agent to district manager. Seven years
later he was made district auditor. In 1911, the
company having developed a large business in Tus
caloosa, appointed Mr. Smith manager of the dis
trict.

Though a stranger in Tuscaloosa, a town in
which Negroes are keenly alert in business, Mr.
Smith took immediately a leading place among the
business men. He had been in the city but one
year when he was chosen President of the Negro
Business Men's League of the city- From this time
on he has represented Tuscaloosa in all the Negro
business gatherings of Alabama. He was delegate
to the National Negro Business League in 1912 and
was chosen Secretary of his State League in 1916.
Useful in business circles, Mr. Smith is also a
vital force in the church and in the big organiza
tions of Alabama. He is an active member and
worker of the First Baptist Church. For four
years he has been President of the Tuscaloosa Bap
tist Young People's Union, and for two years As
sistant Superintendent of the. Sunday School. In
1914 and 1915 he was President of the District Bap
tist Young People's Union. He is a member of the
Advisory Board of the Federation of Colored Wo
men of Alabama.

To be sure Mr. Smith came to business and to ev
ery day life well equipped. He had enjoyed ex
ceptional advantages of travel and contact, having
traveled all over the United States as an advance
representative for the Eckstein Norton University
of Cane Springs, Kentucky. The officials of the
government striving to select leading men in differ
ent localities to lead in war activities, eagerly
sought for and selected Mr. Smith to assume the
office of Chairman of the Food Conservation cam
paign in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama.

The whole county of Tuscaloosa fell in behind his
leadership and the result was that the war depart
ment realized that it had made no mistake in se
lecting him and the result of his activities along
this line will always be a bright spot in his work
for his country.

He was also selected as one of the four minute
speakers for his county and he was everywhere in
the city of Tuscaloosa and Tuscaloosa County
where any gathering was being held to impress
•i^on the people their full duty in whatever mo
mentous work was being pushed by the govern
ment at that time. In fact he was always a lead
ing factor in all war work activities.

In all his endeavors, Mr. Smith relies much on
Mrs. Smith, his wife, to whom he was married in
1896, before taking residence in Alabama. Mrs.
Smith was Miss Nellie Montgomery, of Starksville,
Mississippi.

Soloman Sharp Sykes

F course I don't look at the books
every day, but I keep pretty good
track of things both outside and
in the court house here. As far
as I know, Sykes owns all this
property without one cent of
mortgage."

These were the words of an officer of the court
of Decatur, Alabama, in speaking of Soloman
Sharp Sykes, self-made, self-educated.

Even these details are not germain. The essen
tial question is what this exslave, almost illiterate
man, accomplished during these 50 years of his
freedom. Of course Mr. Sykes is the most modest
of men. You have to wrest facts from him about
himself. Even then he gives only fragments. To
know about him you have to go to his neighbors.
These neighbors tell you that Sharp Sykes is al
ways doing something for his people, helping some
body through school Contributing to buy a church,
to help a school, to give somebody a start. They
tell you further, white or black, that Mr. Sykes
carries a thousand or two of dollars in each of
the several banks of the town. Then you go to the
records and along the streets and find his proper
ty holdings about as follows : His neighbors and
the books all confirm this. He owns his home, a
real residence. He owns his undertaking estab
lishment. He owns his seven stores, eighteen rent
houses, one farm and a seven acre cemetery. This
is the property of which the officer of the court
said, "As far as I know there is not one cent of
mortgage on it."

He gives without ceasing. Moreover, he has
reared and has educated an unusually large family.
And Mr. Sykes lives for, and in a sense, in, these
children. The man does not grow old. He has been
able to grow with his children, to get much of their
education, to absorb from contact with them an
abundance of the culture which he in his youth
and later struggle had to miss.

Mrs. Sykes has had more education to start with,
having had a pretty good common school educa
tion. They are both religious people, being
members of the First Baptist Church, where Mr.
Sykes is a deacon. Mr. Sykes is a lodge member,
holding membership in the Masonic Lodge and in
the Eastern Star. His real life interest, however, is
centered in the church, in his family and in mak
ing people about him happy and content.

Mr. Sykes was born in Lawrence County, Ala
bama, about ten years before emancipation and
lived at a time when it was hard to get an educa
tion. He made the best of his opportunities, how

ever, and managed to secure one or two months of
schooling each year. The balance of his time was
devoted to manual labor.

Tn 1878, while still a young man in his early
twenties, he saw an opportunity to enter business,
which he was quick to seize, and started upon his
business career with only a strong body, a quick
mind and a large endowment of common sense.
This trio of gifts was sure to win success and the
sequence of his life shows that in his case they did
make a successful score. It is unnecessary to fol
low his rise step by step. Sufficient to say that
he won out and that today, after twenty years of
business life, he is the proprietor of a number of
business enterprises. Among his business ventures
is that of Undertaker and Embalmer, a large busi
ness in which his son is associated.

Mr. Sykes is not only a money getter, but a lib
eral spender. He does not spend his money fool
ishly, but in a way to help others. He has learn
ed the joy of service and to him money has open
ed up a wider avenue to this blessed state. Money
is a good servant but a hard master and Mr. Sykes
has relegated money to its proper place of ser
vant. Mr. Sykes also appreciates the uncertainty
of riches and instead of hoarding them to leave to
his children when he is gone he employs his money
in giving his children the best advantages of edu
cation and to fit them for useful lives, knowing
that what he gives them in this respect cannot be
taken from them.

Mr. Sykes was married to Miss Ada Garth of
Morgan Coounty, Alabama, in 1880. and for forty
years they have labored side by side for the good
of their community and the welfare of their chil
dren. God has blessed them with a large family
of children, eight in number, who constitute their
pride of life and in whose interest their lives are
devoted. They have grown with their children and
the reflex influence of the educational advantages
they have given their children are seen in their
own mental advancement.

Several of his children have entered the profes
sions and the others are being fitted to fill well
any position in life that they may elect.

Miss Rebecca is a graduate of Fisk University;
Miss Mamie Estelle is a graduate of Spellman
Seminar}', Atlanta, Georgia ; his son, Newman M.,
is a graduate of Fisk University and is now pursu
ing graduate studies for a medical degree in the
University of Illinois. Another son, Leo M. Sykes,
is now a student at Howard University and is tak
ing a course in Dentistry. Carl M. is a student at
Moorehouse College, Atlanta, Georgia, while Mel-
vin and Eunice are pursuing their studies in the
public schools of their home city. When their
foundation is laid they will no doubt receive a col
lege training also. Children with such advantages
and springing from such a sire ar, sure to make
their impress upon the world, and will be pointed
to as a monument to the wisdom of the parents
who trained them for service.

56

JOHN LEVY THOMAS.

N Union Springs, Alabama, the
county seat of Bullock County,
lives a colored man who for a
quarter of a century has been
judge, jury and court regarding
all matters pertaining to the pub
lic good of the Negro. Step by step from a poor
and unlettered farmer, he has made his way to the
post. At every stage he has had to stop and de
monstrate. It was doubted in that section if a
colored man could own and operate a farm suc
cessfully. J. L. Thomas bought a farm and de
monstrated. It was thought that a Negro could
not ovv'ii and operate a city business successfully,
the prophecy being that business equipment, Ne
gro and all would in a short time be back in the
hands of the white people. Thomas bought a block
and set up a grocery and provision store and prov
ed the fallacy of this notion.

Some years ago advanced thought and democ
racy poked their heads far enough in some sec
tions of the South to declare that a Negro County
]*air would be a very helpful, indeed an inspiring
thing. In and around the home of Mr. Thomas
timidity and inexperience asserted that such a no
tion was little short of preposterous. Taking his

own hard earned money from the bank, Mr.
Thomas financed the Negro Fair, showing that the
thing could be done. Last year the white citi
zens of Union Springs gave one hundred dollars
for prizes for fairs between two small Negro com
munities. Today Mr. Thomas is preaching veg
etable, poultry and stock raising. Once more he
demonstrates with his own products, and once
more his doctrine is being heeded by the masses
around him.

Mr. Thomas was born in Pike County, Alabama,
March 5th, 1863. A farm lad, he had but a slight
chance to gain even the rudiments of education.
What education he got was gained by night study
after plowing all day. The following is told by Dr.
Washington regarding Mr. Thomas' getting a foot
hold:

"Thompson contracted to pay Thomas five dol
lars per month, with the privilege of coming to
town very other Saturday afternoon to see his
mother. He was allowed to stay over Sunday, but
was obliged to be on hand at sunrise Monday
morning to catch his mules and go to plowing. He
was always on time early Monday morning.

"The colored farmer took such a liking to the
boy that the gave him a little patch of land to cul
tivate himself. This land was planted in peanuts,
and yielded between ten and fifteen bushels, which
were carefully dried and housed.

"At that time it was the custom among the col
ored people to give corn shuckings and suppers
were attended by people from ten miles around.
Whenever Mr. Thomas heard of one of these
events he would parch about one-half bushel of his
peanuts and carry them to the gathering to sell.
By offering them at five cents a pint he was able
to make as much as three dollars per bushel. He
often walked as far as eight miles with his peanuts
to a big supper or dance, after plowing hard all day,
and with another hard day before him. He parch
ed them during dinner hour, when other hands
were resting, and was often up as late as three
o'clock in the morning to sell them, although he
had to go to work at daybreak."

Although his education was small in book learn
ing he had a fund of practical knowledge which
backed by a wealth of common sense has enabled
him to do things of great worth and to be a help
and blessing to his race. After all this is the se
cret of a successful life and measured by this
standard he has not lived in vain.

Mr. Thomas is a large real estate owner; his
possessions comprise about two hundred city lots
and several farms. While interested in the city the
farm is his first love. He lives on his farm and
takes great delight in his cattle, poultry and gar
den and from the waving corn and snowy cotton
field he finds his chief joy.

Mi. Ihomas is ambitious to see his people ad
vance i long all right lines and he never tires in
giving them the word of encouragement and in ex
tending the helping hand.

"A friend in need is a friend indeed," and Mr.
Thomas tries to be that friend and has learned as
so many have that a life of service is the only life
worth living.

57

MISS GEORGIA WASHINGTON.

ISS Georgia Washington, the
founder and Principal of the
Peoples' Village School, Mt.
Meigs, Alabama, was born a Vir
ginia slave, and with her mother
and brother, was sold away from
her father when she was a mere child.

After their emancipation the problem of a live
lihood confronted her mother, for the new condi
tions imposed new and untried responsibilities.
Following the course pursued by man}- ex-slaves,
the mother worked out with her old master and
left her daughter to care for the other children in
the family and look after the household duties.
This was a grave responsibility to place upon
young shoulders but the struggle for existence left
no other alternative. Who can say that the hand
of Providence was not in this early direction of
her life. The discipline she received through du
ties thus early placed upon her no doubt played an
important part in her selection of a life work.
Home cares stood as a barrier to school privileges
and often she stood at the window of her home and
watched the children pass too and fro from school
and longed to i e vith them. The thirst for knowl
edge was born in her and would not be quenched
because of difficulties. She felt that the time
would come when she, too, could attend school and

she made the most of the little instruction that
her mother gave her.

Her mother had somewhere learned the alpha
bet and some few words, mostly from the Bible,
and these she taught her daughter.

It was a proud day for Miss Georgia when she
could read the Bible and this daily companion not
only served to in part satisfy the cravings of an
active mind but its principles became so instilled
into her being that her after life was moulded by
them.

Miss Georgia's ambition to learn could not be
satisfied with what she had attained. The knowl
edge she possessed gave her a keen appetite for
more. She applied to a white lady to further her
instructions who gladly complied with her request
and who took pride in her eager and successful
pupil.

Ihe expense of city life became too great for
the meager income of the family and it was neces
sary to make a change in order to reduce the ex
pense of living. With this end in view her mother
moved to the country.

This move brightened the hope of Miss Georgia
for an education, for there was a good school in
the vicinity of their new home.

However, disappointment again met her. Grim
necessity of earning bread thrust her back to all
of those myriad duties attendant upon keeping
house.

Her mother noting her daughter's disappoint
ment and recognizing the activity of her mind, was
as eager as she for her to have a chance for its de
velopment, and determined at the first opportunity
to give her this chance. The opportunity came be
fore her mother felt herself in a position to act.

It chanced that the school teacher here was a
Hampton graduate. By hard persuasion the moth
er was prevailed upon to let the daughter go to
school for a few months. Thus in October, 1876.
she entered the country school. By Christmas
time, necessity in the home caused the mother to
declare against further attendance. Again the
mother was prevailed upon and allowed the
daughter to go on until Spring. However, Miss
Washington had scored another triumph in her
career. She had learned to write with pen and
ink, a feat of magic to her, one which she had de
spaired of accomplishing.

Then came other scenes of persuasion and of
triumph in the Washington cabin. The teacher
wished Miss Washington to go to Hampton. Once
more necessity stood in the way. She went, not
withstanding, but it was agreed that she would
have to return in a little while, as funds would soon
run out. But she did no such thing. She entered in
1877; saw the Indians come to the school in 1878;
saw new buildings go up and old ones torn down ;
was graduated in 1882; joined the teachers' staff
and taught and helped the Indian girls in what is
known as "Winona Lodge" for ten years after
graduation.

Proud as Miss Washington was of her detention
at Hampton, yet such an engagement did not
square with her ideals. She had dreamed of form
ing a school in some out-of-the-way place. This
she found finally in Alabama. At the end of her
ten years service at Hampton, she was asked to go
to Calhoun, Alabama, to aid Miss Mabel Dilling-

'/=•
•*?&*&» if

'*^9*

CAMPUS SCENE PEOPLE'S VILLAGE SCHOOL

ham and Miss Charlotte Thorn, two Hampton
teachers, to found a school. Remaining here a year
Miss Washington set out to realize her own vis
ion, to establish a school.

Dr. Washington knowing her desire chose her
a spot near the village of Mt. Meigs, Alabama a
spot forty miles from the Calhoun Institute, and
twenty-five miles from Tuskegee Institute. Hith
er in 1893 Miss Washington went. Miss Washing
ton came to the village in cotton picking time,
thus she found that no place had been provided for
either herself or the school and that very few peo
ple were interested in either her or the school. The
pastor of the colored church gave her lodging for
the first month. By October, 1893, she had been
able to rent a cabin, 12 by 13, and to open the pub-
Vic village school at Mt. Meigs. Four small boys
completed the enrollment for the first month.
Shortly after this they were crowded out of the
cabin and went into the Negro church.

A quarter of a mile from the school cabin, she
rented another cabin for herself. Here during the
first vear she lived alone, cooking and keeping
house for herself and paying four dollars a month
for rent and laundry. On Saturdays, her holidays,
she taught sewing classes and wrote to the North
seeking to interest friends in the school. She had
mothers' meetings Sunday afternoons.

By February the people had bought and partly
paid for two acres of land and built a small school
house, 18 by 36. The enrollment the first year was
one hundred, representing thirty-five families. As
the children had to pay 50c or 75c according to age.
a great many failed to enroll. Indeed, the one
hundred represented scarcely a third. After the
first year, however, the school grew rapidly. Out

side aid came, new buildings were added. Two
Hampton teachers joined Miss Washington, who
was now able to distribute the work and to teach
more industries. A Board of trustees was incor
porated, two white men of the community being on
the board.

Miss Washington has fully realized the vision
of her school days at Hampton. She has planted a
school in the wilderness. From an enrollment of 4
small boys and one teacher in 1893, the school en
rolled in 1916, 225 students and had five teachers.
From no place at all in which to assemble the pu
pils. Miss Washington has put up a two-story
school house with three recitation rooms, an as
sembly hall, and rooms for teaching industries to
both boys and girls. Twenty-seven acres of land
are now owned and cultivated by the school, fur
nishing a means of teaching the boys and girls how
to farm and live a farm life and at the same time
supply food for students and teachers. All and all
the school has a property valuation of $9,000.00. It
has touched and lifted old and young in many ways
during these twenty-four years of its existence.
It has taught mothers better house keeping and
fathers to buy land and to put their farms on a bus
iness basis. Among the young people, it has turned
out 85 graduates, many of whom have gone to
Hampton, Tuskegee, Normal, Meharry Medical
College, Talladega College, Spelman Seminary,
Howard University and many other schools. These
are now filling places of leadership where they are
living. Those who did not elect to study further
have gone back home and are applying their
knowledge gained at the Village School in living
clean, useful lives.

59

VICTOR HUGO TULANE.

RAVELLING around on the south
side of Montgomery, Ala., you
come all at once upon a two-story
brick building' which you feel
ought to be down town. It is
clean, wholesome, spacious, up-to-

date in all appointments. This is

the Tulane Grocery on the corner of South Ripley
and High Sts. The building and business alike are
owned by Victor H. Tulane, who in many ways is
the foremost colored citizen of Montgomery.

Mr. Tulane is a farm lad by birth, coming from
Wetumpka, Ala. When a lad of fifteen having
amassed the sum of $13.60 from picking cotton, he
left his native heath and walked into Montgom
ery in his bare feet. It took but a little while to
find employment. In a year's time he with the as
sistance of a hard working mother, had saved
$100.00. With this sum he resolved to enter busi
ness for himself.

Now this was back in the late eighties — 1888, to
be explicit, when a Negro grocer, indeed a Negro
anything worth while in business was a very rare
creature. However, investing his savings in a rust-
eaten set of scales, a broken meat knife, a lam]), a
peck measure, and a few grocery remnants, lie set
forth on his business career.

Being a pioneer he proceeded upon anything but
a pretentious basis. His first purchase of new
stock consisted of one five pound bucket of lard
and ten cents worth of salt. As can be readily
.^een his fifteen feet by twenty feet store was far

too large for his merchandise. To meet a local de
mand he turned one side of the store into a char
coal bin and sold charcoal along with, or perhaps
in excess of his groceries.

There were other embarrassments for the pion
eer. Mr. Tulane had not been in business long be
fore he decided that plowing and picking cotton
taught one very little about dealing in weights
and measures. Nor were there skilled Negroes in
business as there are now who could give instruc
tions. Mr. Tulane found out, however, a lad who
had worked around a grocery store. This boy
taught his employer the use of scales and man}'
•other points about the grocery business. It was in
this early business that he went from house to
house to solicit trade that crediting people well
nigh closed out his then petty business, that he
closed his store to deliver orders, carrying on his
back bags of meal, half barrels of flour, and the
like.

In four years the light began to break. He had
gotten some education in grocery keeping; his
business had grown. A Texas pony hauled around
the goods. A fifteen by twenty feet building was
growing too small, but the store now leaked pain
fully. The young grocer had by this time saved
three hundred dollars. He resolved since the
landlord would not repair to buy a place of his
own. Thus began the spacious business quarters
on the coroner of South Ripley and High Sts. Here,
after twenty odd years he keeps stock worth sev
eral thousand dollars, employs regularly seven as
sistants, not counting himself and wife, both of
whom give their time to the store, runs several
grocery wagons — in a word, does from twenty-
five thousand to forty thousand dollars worth of
business a year. Besides this, Mr. Tulane has
branched out into other businesses and in public
service work. He is the owner of many pieces of
real estate in Montgomery. For some years he
was the Cashier of the Montgomery Penny Sav
ings Bank, which of course had to close when the
parent bank failed in Birmingham. That Mr. Tu-
lane's books were above question is shown by the
fact that both the leading white banks and the big
stores of Montgomery came forward immediately
to proffer their assistance. Throughout his ca
reer he has been interested in uplift work of his
community. He is Chairman of the Board of Trus
tees of Old Ship A. M. E. Church, the oldest col
ored church in Montgomery. For years he has
been a member of the Swaync School Board and
is one of the chief promoters of a new building
and better surroundings for this school. He is an
honorary member of the Montgomery Chamber of
Commerce, the only NegTO enjoying such an honor,
a member of the Executive Committee of the Na
tional Negro Business League, and a member of
the Board of Trustees of Tuskegee Institute, as
well as of other smaller schools.

Mr. Tulane bases his business success around
which all other distinctions hover upon straightfor
ward dealings, giving full measure for value re
ceived, meeting all obligations promptly, avoiding
cheap goods, studying needs of customers, keeping
his surroundings clean, in letting his business ad
vertise itself. Far above all this are, two, Mrs. Tu-
lanes to whom this business man expresses lasting
gratitude for all that he has achieved, his own
mother and also his wife. Mrs. V. II. Tulane.

60

CHARLES WINTER WOOD, A. 13., B. D., M. A.

E is a reader, an orator, an educa
tor and a Gentleman." It is with
these words that the Chicago De-
'l ^yy 4j k) fender characterizes Charles Win-
J ^\ ^^ J> 1^r Wood. So far as they_ go they
J P*y&i!M t* do well enough. But the man
whom all call "Charlie," who is known for his
generosity to friend and foe, whose unselfishness
runs to the point of abnegation, who works with
out regard to hours and with indifference to remun
eration, who speaks no ill and thinks no ill. who
never abuses even those who abuse him, can stand
a good deal heavier coat of felicitation than is laid
on him in these few words from his good friend
the Defender.

Professionally Mr- Wood could till several posts
with distinction. So long as all these posts run to
one tenor; namely the tenor of oratory. Charles
Winter Wood could come away with great eclat,
lie commenced his course as an actor; but a Ne
gro actor of the days when Mr. Wood made his
debut, was as positive of starvation as was the early
founder of a new religion. Stranded on the road
and smitten with hunger the young Shakespearean.
and Shakespearean he was and is, shook the sack
and bieskin and besought the muses for some hum

bler calling where applause was perhaps not so vo
ciferous but, bread and broth much more regular.
Wood's greatest Dramatic achievement was Al-
clepus Rex of Sophacles which was produced by
Beloit College at Auditorium of Chicago. This was
in Greek.

Then, too, even if the stage had been more lur
ing, Mr. Wood had in him a virile streak of the
missionary. Somebody had put him on his feet,
had shown him the way, Charlie Wood burned with
the desire to do some sort of thing for another.
Booker Washington was looking for a man with
just Mr. Wood's zeal and ability. Thither to Tus-
kegee, in those early days when men got water by
allowance and had to get credit for a postage stamp
Mr. Wood went and began to teach English and
Public Speaking. Much of the dramatic industrial
work, which later made Tuskegee Institute famous
was begun and developed under Mr. Wood-
But Mr. Washington was too shrewd an observ
er and interpreter of men to keep Mr. Wood chain
ed very long to the class room. His talent as an
orator and as an entertainer was far too marked
to allow his remaining in the school room. And
so Mr. Wood went on the road. -He trained stu
dents to speak, he drilled quartets ; he took the in
terests of Tuskegee Institute to bankers and mil
lionaires, making friends for the institution and for
Dr. Washington everywhere.

This man who has done so much to help make
•Tuskegee Institute of today possible was born in
Tennessee December 17. 1870. He got what he
could from the public schools of his native town,
went to Chicago a poor boy and blacked boots to
buy his bread and learned and recited Shakespeare
for extras. One day Gaumsarlens, a preacher
of great renown, was having his boots blacked.
Shakespeare was as usual thrown in. The great
divine saw the worth of the boy at once. Charles
Winter Wood was soon in school. He was graduat
ed from the Grammar Schools of Chicago, matricu
lated in Beloit and came forth a Bachelor of Arts-
He was also graduated from the Saper School of
Oratory, was graduated from Chicago University
Divinity School as B. D., as Master of Arts from
Columbia University in New York. All these de
grees he earned by hard work of body and brain
for he had to pay his own way.

Today he is a preacher who could fill any pulpit
with much credit to himself and great delight to
the congregation. He is one of the best enter
tainers on the road. He is an orator of great talent.
Secretary of War Baker and his assistant Emmett
Jay Scott saw in Wood a power as a special war
speaker and Wood was called on to do his bit dur
ing the great war.

All these he has subordinated to serving Tuskegee
Institute. All these he uses to be sure, but he uses
them to win friends and money for the school Book
er T. Washington gave his life to build. On the
faculty list he is manager of the Publicity Cam
paign,' and Field Work, but at the school and else
where in the country he is one of the big men whom
Tuskegee has made and who has made Tuskegee.

61

MRS. MARGARET WASHINGTON.

Mrs. Margaret Washington

O have been the wife of Booker
T. Washington, to have stood by
him in those trying years of star
vation at Tuskegee, to have been
of tremendous aid in making Tus
kegee Institute and making in a
very literal way its founder would, it appears, be
distinction — enough for any lady of the land. Yet
apart from anything that Tuskegee Institute could
have meant to her save a place giving opportunity
to expand, Mrs. Washington will go down in Negro
history as one of the greatest women of her cen
tury.

Further, her distinction, though marked, will not
be a distinction of press clippings and applause.
Hers will be a personal one. handed on from neigh
bor to neighbor, from father and mother to child.
Her real service in the world will be estimated, not
upon the fact that she was once President of the
Alabama State Federation of Colored Women's
Clubs or of the National Federation of Colored
Women's Clubs, not that she spoke to crowded au
diences or dined with distinguished men and wo
men- Rather it will be reckoned upon the lost and
half-wayward girls whom she shielded, encouraged
and brought to paths of rectitude, upon the kind,
sympathetic training she gave to young girls who
knew no wrong and who because of her teaching
remained always the pure, clean minded persons
they were in childhood, upon the comfort and sus
tenance she has taken into the destitute country
homes around Tuskegee ; upon the country schools
she has founded ; upon the rest room which she
founded and keeps open for the Negro country wo
men in the town of Tuskegee ; upon the actual
teaching she has given these women on how to live
and attend to their homes ; upon the disease eaten
men and women whom she has had clothed, housed,
fed and doctored; upon the out-cast children she
has reared and educated and placed in good posi
tions. These are the people who will forever place
her name along side of her lamented husband, not
because she was partner in all his struggles, but be
cause she was also a servant to the poor and the
neglected.

Mrs. Washington is. like Dr. Washington, bone
and fibre a Southerner. She loves the South, knows
Southern people, white and black and prefers to
live and work in the South. She was born in Macon
Mississippi, March 9, 1865. She was one of a large
family, there being in the Murray home ten child
ren. A frail girl from her youth, she set out early
to master her physical weakness and secure a thor
ough education. On completing such courses as
she could get in the town in which she was living

she matriculated at Fisk University. Entering here
in 1889 she spent nine years preparing for and com
pleting her college course. Though poor in health
during her school career, she nevertheless made an
enviable record as a student, took leading parts in
debates and in all forms of school activities .and was
the student most relied upon to see that good order
and good behavior prevailed everywhere. On fin
ishing her work at Fisk she became teacher of En
glish at Tuskegee Institute. She had not been at
Tuskegee long before she became lady principal
It was in this position even in carlv days at Tus
kegee that Mrs. Washington began to show her
real worth as a leader .and helper. She soon tonk
over all the problems of the girls and women, not
only in the school but in a radius of at least five
miles around the school. When therefore she be
came Mrs. Booker T. Washington, which was in
1892. she had grasped the who'e range of problems
which would confront the wife of the principal of
Tuskegee Institute. From that day she has been
one of the greatest forces at Tuskegee Institute,
and among the Negro leaders and thinkers of the
country. Practically nothing pertaining to Negro
home life, is undertaken without a conference with
Mrs. Washington.

Mrs. Washington is a prodigious worker. She
reads much, both popular matter and classic litera
ture. She sees people by hundreds. From the time
she goes to her office in Dorothy Hall in the morn
ing until she literally makes herself leave, she is
seeing peop'e and helping solve their problems.
Here is a score of student girls, a dozen country
women, a half dozen teachers, all in line to confer
with her about some matter vital to themselves.

For all this she finds time for the cu'.tivat'on of
all those delicate family and friendly relations, per
sonal touches, a thing which has endeared the
Washingtons to thousands of people. Dr. Wash
ington's two sons, Booker Jr. and E. Davidson and
his daughter Portia, she has always cared for as
if they were her own. Though they are now all
married and have families of their own she still
cares for them with that deftness of family touch
peculiar to a few master mothers. Day after day
you will see her leave her office and go after Book
er T. Ill, who is the image of his grandfather, and
take him walking or driving. She is as interested
in health and manners and education of child and
grandchild as if they were all but one young" fam
ily just starting in life. Tuskegee owes her more
than it can ever pay, more perhaps than it will ever
even know ; for she has wrought directly much that
will never die ; and indirectly she performed won
ders by the side of him who blazed legions of new
tracks in education, in labor, in economics and in
society for the American Negro.

63

JOHN WESLEY WILLIAMS.

OHN Wesley Williams was born
July 10, 1881, in Quitman, Ga. He
received his early education in the
public schools of Quitman and
other points in the state of Geor
gia. His father being a Methodist
Minister he changed his home frequently and of
course changed schools at the same time. He went
to Dorchester Academy, Mclntosh, Georgia, after
getting what he could from the public schools and
later did some work in Oberlin College, Oberlin,
Ohio.

When Mr. Williams went to Dorchester Academy
he had twelve dollars in his pocket and two suits
of clothes. He remained seven years at this insti
tution of learning and during that time did not re
ceive one cent in help. He worked his way with
an idea of making the most of his time and of him
self. After the first year he was put in charge of
the buildings and grounds. In this way he earned
his way through the institution. Although a great
portion of his time was taken up with his work
he never neglected his lessons. He is in fact a
proof of the old saying that "Those who labor
hardest, appreciate most what th.ey get." He ap
preciated every opportunity that came his way that

was for his betterment. He came out of that in
stitution at the head of the class, graduating with
highest honors.

From the age of twelve Mr. Williams had looked
out for himself. In this early start he learned the
value of the dollar, and once he had the money, he
knew how to take care of it. His first business ven
ture was in Oberlin, Ohio. Here he opened his es
tablishment with forty dollars as capital. He built
up a business worth $20,000.00 in five years. lie
did this through attending strictly to the matter
in hand and letting no opportunity pass him bv.

In 1912 he left Oberlin and went to Birmingham.
Here he opened a Cleaning and Dyeing Business
with a capital of $500.00. His business here is
now worth $15,000.00. Besides what he lias put
back into his business he has invested in real es
tate and personal property. In all his property
holdings are valued at $35,000.00. The business of
Mr. Williams is reputed to be the largest cleaning
and dyeing plant of any colored man in the world.
This is very gratifying to him when he remembers
that he has done it all unaided, that even in his
childhood he had to be self supporting.

Mr. Williams is an active member of the A. M.
K. Church. Here he gives his money freely to the
support of the gospel and lends his aid in every
way possible for the advancement of the cause. In
fraternal matters he is a member of the Knights
of Pythias.

Mr. Williams is President and Treasurer of the
O. K. French Dye and Cleaning Company, incorpor
ated, Chairman of the Industrial Committee of the
United States Four Minute men of Birmingham.
Alabama, Manager of a Land Improvement Com
pany, in Cleveland, Ohio. In fact most of the time
and energy of Mr. John Wesley Williams is spent
in business. And in this field he is a success.

On business and for pleasure Mr. Williams has
traveled through most of the middle western States
and through all of the Southern. He has also spent
some time in various cities of Canada. In his trav
els from one place to another, and from one sec
tion of the country to another section, he has been
able to compare his business with that of others
following his line. In every instance he has found
that he was doing the greater amount of work and
running the larger establishment. There is nothing
of the braggart in this estimation he has made of
his work. Merely a stating of facts. Indeed, wher
ever Mr. Williams has found a new suggestion he
has accepted it gladly, eagerly. This is in fact one
of the reasons for his success.

Mr. Williams was married to Miss Alice L. Neely
of Bolivar, Tennessee, October 19, 1915. Two beau
tiful babies have come to share the home of Mr.
and Mrs. Williams. Frances is two years of age
and Baby Alice only six months old.

64

ARTHUR McKIMMON BROWN, A. B., M. D.

RTHUR McKimmon Brown, phy
sician, surgeon, was born in Ra
leigh, North Carolina, Novem
ber 9, 1867. He came from an
educated family. He was the son
of Winfiekl Scott, and Jane M.
Brown. His grandmother was one of the first pub
lic school teachers in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Both of his parents being educated and moderately
prosperous they saw that their son got the best
preparation that the schools of his day could offer.
His first school days were spent in the public-
schools, at Raleigh. From the public schools he
entered Shaw University, taking preparatory work.
He was but twelve years of age, when he first reg
istered at Shaw. After spending two years he
returned to the city and pursued advanced study
in the public schools. It was during the second
course in the public schools that be began to show
himself as a brilliant and promising student. By
competition he won the four years scholarship at
Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. Entering
Lincoln University in 1884 he soon became con-
spicious as a student and talented singer. His ex
ceptional ability as a musician gained for him mem
bership in the Silver Leaf Glee Club.

In 1888 he was graduated from the Lincoln Uni-

65

versity with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. In
ihe same year he matriculated in the University
of Michigan for the study of medicine. At Mich
igan University he applied himself even harder than
he had done at Lincoln, and became before the close
of his career there assistant in the office of one
of the professors. Dr. Brown was graduated as
doctor of medicine from Michigan University, in
1I-N1. Of all the men who came out that year he
\ ?s the only one who dared face the rigid exami
nation of the medical board of Alabama. As is
well known among the physicians that the exami
nations of this board are exceedingly rigid, Dr.
Brown, however, took the examination and passed.
For two years he practiced in the mining town of
Bessemer. Subsequently he practiced in Chicago,
and in Cleveland but returned to Birmingham in
1894. Here he remained until the beginning of the
Spanish-American War. Wishing to serve his
country and his people he enlisted in the United
States Army, as a surgeon. He was the first Ne
gro surgeon to secure a commission in the regular
army of the United States. In 1899 he received
an honorable dismissal and returned to Birming
ham. Here he has since pursued a successful
practice and has become one of the leading citi
zens in many activities.

While serving iti the army he accumulated
enough material to join in writing a very fascinat
ing and informing book, entitled "Under Fire with
the Tenth United States Cavalry." This is one
of the most authentic documents, as well as faci-
nating reading on the service of the famous Tenth.
Dr. Brown enjoys an enviable reputation as
a Surgeon and stands high among the Negro phy
sicians.

Throughout his career, Dr. Brown has taken in
tensive interest in his profession and in many en
terprises, both social and business, about the city
of Birmingham. He was interested in the Peo
ples' Drug Store, of Birmingham, in 1895. He
was at one time also chairman of the Prison Im
provement Board ; director of the Alabama Penny
Saving Bank ; at another time he served as surgeon
in the Provident and John C. Hall hospitals, in
Birmingham. He is at present surgeon to the
Home Hospital, Birmingham, and is a member of
the Surgical Staff of M. O. A., Andrew Memorial
Hospital, Tuskegee, Alabama. He is one of the
leading Baptists of the city. He is a member of
the Masonic Lodge, Odd Fellows, Elks, and Knights
of Honor. In his profession, he has been presi
dent of the National Medical Association ; presi
dent Tri-state Medical, Dental and Pharmaceuti
cal Association ; the Tri-States being Alabama,
Georgia, and Florida. Socially he holds active
membership in the Owl, Whist and Advance clubs.
He is a frequent contributor to the National Med
ical Journal.

Dr. Brown has been married t\,ice. His first
wife was Miss Mamie Lou Coleman, of Atlanta,
Georgia. They were married June 5, 1895. The
present Mrs. Brown was Miss Mamie Nellie Ad
ams, of Birmingham. He married her September
27th, 1905. They have four children, Arthur, Her
ald, Walter and Majorie. Dr. and Mrs. Brown live
in their beautiful home on Fifth Avenue, where
their generous hospitality is dispensed to friends.

NATHANIEL JOSEPH BROUGHTON, M. D.

F all the sections in Alabama to
produce Negro leaders and men
and women who have given am
ple account of their stewardship,
the locality in and around Marion
and Selma would no doubt carry
the palm. These sections are probably just fer
tile enough to produce men physically strong
and fit for life's wagers and yet barren enough to
make them rise and go forth. Dr. Nathaniel Jo
seph Broughton was born in Selma. He came
along in a better day than most men who have
made their mark. He was born in the latter sev
enties, when Selma University, Payne University
as well as a great many Negro institutions both
in and out of the State were no longer a ques
tion, but schools fairly well established with cours
es and policies rather definitely shaped.

Dr. Broughton was first a student at Payne In
stitute when his educational foundation was laid.
From this institute he entered the Selma Univer
sity, a few blocks away. Here he received addi
tional training which prepared him for his next
move. He next enrolled in Walden University,
Nashville, Tennessee.

Up to this time Dr. Broughton had but one

though — to secure a good education and to this
end he bent all of his energies and applied him
self with untiring effort.

As he approached the goal of his ambition the
question of a career forced itself upon his mind.
After considering the various vocations he finally
chose that of medicine, seeing in this profession
not only honorable calling, but a field of great use
fulness.

This decision was no doubt influenced by his
work in and around a drug store and where he
had an opportunity to study pharmacy. He labor
ed in this store as a means to help pay his way
through college. Thus it often happens that Prov
idence interposes to lead us to our life work.

However, there is much distinction between de
cision and action. It is much easier to plan than
to execute. To determine upon a course is the
first and important step and then follows the
hours, days and often months of patient toil and
effort to carry out your plans. This was the case
with Dr. Broughton. He had for years driven
himself, as he thought, to his limit in securing his
college training.

In the summer he was working hard in Pullman
service and during the school year was putting in
spare hours in the drug store or anywhere else he
could find employment. He had elected to be a
physician and in order to fit himself for his profes
sion he must assume additional burden and he
went to his task with a zeal and determination
which won him the fight.

In Meharry Medical College, not far from Wald
en, indeed the two schools are run under the same
auspices, though with different executives and
teachers, Mr. Daniel Williams, the celebrated Ne
gro Surgeon of Chicago, was delivering lectures.
Dr. Williams often wished to show how plaster of
Paris was put on and how plaster of Paris and the
patient behaved. Thus they needed what the artist
might call a model, somebody who would allow
himself in part or in toto to be shut up in Plaster
of Paris. Dr. Broughton secured this rather unde
sirable post, undesirable for some but most desir
able for him. The job served him most lucratively
in two ways. It increased his fund considerably
to pay his college bills. Far more valuable still
it gave the doctor his first real lasting incentive
for medicine. He learned to love the profession ;
he saw its opportunities ; he got very helpful in
struction both from the experience and from the
lectures. He is one of the comparatively few doc
tors in the profession who "know how it feels" to
be cased up in plaster of Paris, a sympathy well
worth while and one which brings more business
than can be readily appreciated.

Though Dr. Broughton is still young, and young
er yet in his profession, he is well established in all
that the world terms properous. He began practice
in Woodlawn. Alabama, one of the suburbs of Bir
mingham, in 1906. In ten years he has thoroughly
equipped himself and his office to render the best
of service in the professon. He owns his home and
three vacant lots in this town of his adoption.

A happy head, the family surrounds him. He was
married in 1906 to Miss Beatrice L. Statton of
Chattanooga, Tenn. They have two daughters,
Misses Genevieve and Mary George, both of whom
are students in Normal School.

66

ORION LAWRENCE CAMPBELL.

R. Orion Lawrence Campbell was
born in Montgomery County,
Alabama, December 13th, 1875.
When quite a small boy it was
his delight to visit a barber shop
and watch the barbers at their
work. Then and there he formed the ambi
tion to be a barber, but he reached the goal of his
ambition in later life, and after he had given sev
eral other lines of business his attention.

He received his preparatory education at the
County School, but finished at Tuskegee Institute.
An incident at the Tuskegee Institute revived his
ambition to be a barber and no doubt contributed
largely in the final determination to follow this line
of work. He had a difficulty with another student
in which he proved an expert in the use of a razor.
His room mate joked him about his ability to use
a razor and suggested that he open a tonsorial shop.
Acting upon the suggestion of the joker he began
business and while at the Institute he not only shav
ed the students but numbered among his custo
mers, many of the Professors and as he expressed
it, felt himself a full fledged barber, when Dr.
Booker T. Washington sat in the chair.

After leaving the Tuskegee Institute he engag
ed in the Upholstering business, but soon gave that
up for the Printer's trade. Like a great number
of young men, he was posessed with the false no
tion that one business was more honorable that an
other, and lost sight of the fact that all legitimate
businesses are honorable, and that the honor lies
in doing well what you undertake. Under the spell
of this idea he took advantage of an opening to take
charge of the type stand, and press at the State
Normal School, Montgomery, at a salary of $12.00
per week. He essayed to be a printer but the call
of the barber shop had become too strongly in
trenched in his mind to be effaced, and so his good
common sense came to his rescue, and he gave up
the press and type for the barber's tools. He en
tered a barber shop on the per centage basis, and
his earnings the first week only amounted to $1.55,
but he was not to be discouraged. Other barbers
were earning from $15. to $20. per week, and of
they could earn it he could. He more than doub
led his earnings the second week and at the end of
six weeks he was earning as much as any barber
in the shop. By his courteous manner and fidelity
to his business he soon won the confidence of the
Proprietor of the shop, who left him in charge when
absent. After twelve years service in this shop he
acquired a half interest in the business, but only
continued partnership one year. After disposing of
his interest he opened up a shop of his own. He
opened his shop in 1908, and still operates it. It
is well equipped with all the modern conveniences
and is well patronized. His motto is, "Courteous
and Efficient Service," and living up to his motto
has secured for him the best of trade.

His gross receipts for the year 1918, amounted to
$14,000.00 Mr. Campbell has made a success of
his business by following the bent of his inclina
tion and giving his talent fullplay, and by strict
and honest attention to his affairs.

It is a matter of honest pride with him that his
barber shop ranks with the first class colored shops
throughout the country, both in management and
equipment.

He has accumulated quite a nice property. He
owns a home of about $4000 value and six addi
tional houses worth about $800 each, which brings
him in a good income.

While giving close attention to his business, Mr.
Campbell finds time to interest himself in all enter
prises which have for their object the betterment
of his race. He belongs to the A. M. E. Church,
and is a member of the Board of Trustees; he is a
member of the Board of Trustees of Swayne Col
lege ; He is a member of the K. of P. Lodge and
was a member of the Masons and Odd Fellows. As
a Pythian he ranks as Past Chancellor.

Mr. Campbell has been quite a traveler and has
visited the leadng cities of America.

January 4th, 1911 he was married to Beatrice
Gorham, of Montgomery, who is still his beloved
companion. They have no children. He occupies
a high position of respect both among the white
and colored citizens.

67

ROBERT RUSSA MOTON.

Robert Russa Moton LL. D.

R. Robert Russa Moton, who is
now the distinguished Principal
of the Tuskegee Institute in Ala
bama, takes pride in tracing his
ancestry to pure African lineage.
He is a direct descendant of a
young African Prince, who was
brought over to this country and
was purchased by a Virginia planter.

Born on August 26, on a Virginia plantation ,and
inheriting some of the taste for knowledge from his
mother, who had under difficulty learned to read
and write, Robert Moton early developed a desire
to broaden and obtain more of the world's know
ledge. Accordingly, he set out for Hampton Insti
tute with a definite goal in view and reached the
Institute a few years after Booker T. Washington
had graduated.

Dr. Moton was early endowed with a generous
supply of common sense and wise judgment. His
fellow comrades often sought his advice and were
wisely and sanely directed. He graduated from
Hampton Institute in 1890 and soon after was em
ployed by his Alma Mater as Commandant of Ca
dets, which position he filled creditably for over
twenty years.

In 1905 he was married to Elizabeth Hunt Har
ris, of Williamsburg, Virginia, who died the follow
ing year, 1906. In 1908, he married Jennie Dee
Booth, of Glocester County, Virginia. As a result
of this marriage, four children are living ; Cather
ine, Charlotte, Robert and Allen.

During his term of service at Hampton Institute
he became closely allied with Dr. Booker T. Wash
ington, in their dual efforts to secure funds for the
maintenance of the Institutions which each re
presented. In one of his books, Dr. Washington
said of him, "Major Moton knows by intuition
Northern white people and Southern white people.
I have often heard the remark made that the
Southern white man knows more about the Negro
in the South than anybody else. I will not stop
here to debate that question, but I will add that
colored men like Major Moton, know more about
the Southern White man than anybody else on
earth.

"At the Hampton Institute, for example, they
have white teachers and colored teachers ; they
have Southern white people and Northern white
people ; besides, they have colored students and
Indian students. Major Moton knows how to
keep his hands on all of these different elements,
to see to it that friction is kept down and that
each works in harmony with the other. It is a
difficult job, but Major Moton knows how to nego
tiate it."

"This thorough understanding of both races
which Major Moton possesses has enabled him to
give his students just the sort of practical and
helpful advice and counsel that no White man who
has not himself faced perculiar conditions of the
Negro could be able to give."

Because of their intimate relationship and the
mutual ideas of education and human develop
ment which they entertained, when Dr. Washing
ton passed away, the name of this friend of his,

about whom he had expressed himself so beauti
fully, came into the minds of hundreds of people,
and almost unanimously, he was chosen to be the
successor of this illustrious Colored American.
The following extract taken from Major Moton's
inaugural address at Tuskegee, shows in what spir
it he assumed the "mantle" of his illustrious pre
decessor.

"No greater or more serious responsibility was
ever placed upon the Negro than is left us here at
Tuskegee. The importance of the work and the
gravity of the duties that have been assigned the
principal, the officers and the teachers in the for
warding of this work cannot be over-estimated.
But along with the responsibility and difficulties we
have a rare opportunity ; one almost to be envied,
— an opportunity to help in the solution of a great
problem — The Human Race problem, not merely
changing the modes of life and the ideals of a race,
but of almost equal importance, the changing of
ideas of other races regarding that race."

Going beyond his regular duties, at Hampton,
Dr. Moon formed what is known as the Negro Or
ganization Society, in Virginia. Through its in
fluence, 350,000 Negroes are being helped in the
fundamentals of life, health, education, agriculture,
home making. Dr. Moton is the founder and pres
ent honorary president. He is also the chairman
of the Executive Committee of the National Ne
gro Business League and the Chairman of the Ex
ecutive Committee of the Anna T. Jeanes Foun
dation.

During the period of the war, Dr. Moton was
instrumental in negotiating a loan of five million
dollars from the United States government for use
in Liberia. He also was very active in speaking
to the people on many tours in the interest of War
Savings Stamps, Liberty Loan Drives and the con
servation of food. He has recently been appoint
ed the Negro representatives on the Permanent
Roosevelt Memorial National Committee.

Early in December, 1918, at the sacrifice of a
great many matters of his own which needed im
mediate attention, Dr. Moton left his own import
ant work to go to France at the special request of
President Wilson and Secretary Baker, to do spe
cial morale work among the colored soldiers, who
had made such a fine record for valor and courage.
He spoke to thousands of these soldiers, black and
white, urging them to return to their homes in a
spirit of service and firm in their efforts to help
uplift humanity and establish a real democracy in
America.

The degree of L. L. D. has been conferred upon
him by Oberlin College and Virginia Union Univer
sity in Richmond, Virginia.

To show in what degree Dr. Moton is keeping
alive the spirit of Tuskegee Institute, and of Dr.
Washington, the following quotation is taken from
one of the leading Southern White papers, in Char
lotte, North Carolina :

"So long as the Booker T. Washington ideals pre
vail at Tuskegee, that institution will continue to
perform a valuable service to the Negroes of the
South, and under the management of Dr. Moton,
these ideals have been lived up to in an admirable
manner.'

69

CADETS ON PARADE AT TUSKEGEE INSTITUTE.

HE school was established by an
an act of Alabama Legislature —
session of 1880, as the Tuskegee
State Normal School. Two thou
sand dolars was appropriated to
pay salaries. The first session,

July 4, 1881, opened in a rented

shanty church, with 30 pupils,
and one teacher. The first prncipal of the institu
tion, Booker T. Washington, brought to the work
his own creative ability and the educational ideals
of his friend and teacher, Samuel Chapman Arm-
Strong, the founder of Hamptdn Institute. He
continued as principal until his death, in November,
1915. Through his tact and energy the plant and
.endowment have been increased to an aggregate
value of almost 4,000,000. In 1893 the institution
was incorporated under its present name. In 1899
the United States Congress gave the school 25,000
acres of mineral land. Of this, 5,100 acres have
been sold and the proceeds applied to the endow
ment fund. The remaining 19,900 acres are valued
at $250,000. The ownership and control of the in
stitution are vested in a board of trustees compos
ed of influential white and colored men from the
North and from the South.

Since the foundation of the school over ten
thousand men and women have finished a full or
partial course. They have gone out and are do
ing good work, mainly as industrial workers.

The total enrollment in the normal and industrial
departments in 1918-1919 was 1,620. This included
representatives from thirty-five states and eighteen
foreign countries. This did not, however, include
242 pupils in the training school or Children's
House ; and 572 in the Summer School. The total
number of those who had the benefit of the schools
training was 2,432.

There are forty trades or professions taught. The
industries are grouped under three departments :

The school of agriculture, the department of me
chanical industries and the industries for girls.
There is also a hospital and nurse training school.
Each of these departments has a separate building
or group of buildings in which its work is carried
on. The agricultural school, in addition to its la
boratories, has the farm and experiment station
where practical and experimental work is done.
The farm includes over 2,000 acres. The work of
the farm is carried on by 200 students and 14 in
structors.

The mechanical industries include auto-mechan
ics, carpentry, brickmasonry, wood working, print
ing, tailoring, blacksmithing, shoemaking, found
ing, wheelwrighting, harness making, carriage
trimming, plumbing, steam fitting, electrical en
gineering, architectual and mechanical drawing,
tin-smithing, painting and brick making.

The girls' industries include laundering, domestic
science, plain sewing, dressmaking, millinery, and
home crafts, under which are included bead work,
broom making, rug making, chair seating and home
decorations basketry.

There is a systematic effort to correlate the aca
demic studies with the industrial training and prac
tical interests of the pupils. By this means, the in
dustrial work of the students is lifted above the le
vel of mere drudgery and becomes a demonstra
tion. On the other hand, the principals acquired
in the academic studies gain in definiteness, preci
sion and interest by application to actual situa
tions and real objects. The academic department
is divided into a night and a day school. The night
school is designed for those who are too poor to
pay the small charges made to the day school. The
night school pupils spend five evenings each week
in academic work; the day school pupils, three
days each week. Teaching in the academic depart
ment is carried on by a faculty of forty-four
teachers. They are expected to visit every week

WHITE HALL, ONE OF THE DORMITORIES FOR YOUNG WOMEN AT TUSKEGEE INSTITUTE.

some one division of the shops or farm and report
upon it in order to find the illustrative material for
their class room work. Pupils in their rhetoricals,
read papers on and give demonstrations of the
work they have done in the shops.

The Phelps Hall Bible Training School was es
tablished in 1892 to assist in improving the Negro
ministry. It aims to give its students a compre
hensive knowledge of the English Bible and such
training as will fit them to work as preachers and
missionaries under the conditions existing among
their people.

The hospital and nurse training school was start
ed in 1892. Over one hundred nurses have graduat
ed and are doing good work in different parts of
the country.

EXTENSION: The extension department pro
vides a large number of activities for the improve
ment of educational, agricultural, business, home
health and religious life of the colored people of the
United States. These activities vary from those
limited to the needs of the institute community to
those of national significance. The local organi
zations include the building and loan associations,
home building society, women's clubs, health and
religious organizations. Country-wide movements
include the supervision and building of rural
schools, farm demonstration work, and health
campaigns. The State-wide and national activities
are largely the result of Dr. Washington's influ
ence over the colored people and the esteem with
which he was regarded by white people, North and
South. The most important of these are the Na
tional Business League, with its State and local
organizations, and the State educational tours
which Dr. Washington conducted in almost every
Southern State.

Probably the most influential of the extension ef
forts is the Negro Farmers' Conference, held an
nually at the institute. The conference brings to
gether thousands of colored farmers from neigh
boring counties and hundreds from other parts of
the State and neighboring States. In 'addition,

many influential white and colored people from
every part of the country have gone to Tuskegee
to see the assembly guided by Dr. Washington.
On the day following the large meeting a "Work
ers' conference" is held. This is composed of per
sons who are directing all forms of endeavor for
the improvement of the Negro race. Closely con
nected with the farmers' conference is the short
course in agriculture consisting of two weeks of
study and observation at the institute. It is wide
ly attended by farmers of surrounding countries.

The experiment farm established at Tuskegee
in 1896 by the State legislature is conducting ex
periments in soil cultivation for the benefit of the
colored farmers of the State.

The school publications include two regular pa
pers and many valuable pamphlets. The Tuskegee
Student is a bimonthly devoted to the interests of
the pupils, teachers and graduates. The Southern
Letter, a record of the graduates and former stu
dents is issued monthly and sent to persons inter
ested in Tuskegee. The Negro Year Book is a
compendium of valuable facts concerning the Ne
gro in the United States.

TEACHER TRAINING: The teacher - training
course includes psychology, history of education,
methods, management, school administration, re
views, and methods in elementary subjects, draw
ing, physical training, nature study, and 10 weeks
of practice teaching at the Children's House. The
Children's House is a large seven-grade school
maintained co-operatively by Tuskegee and the
country. It has facilities for manual work, house
hold arts, and school garden. It is an excellent labo
ratory for observation and practice teaching. Ar
rangements have also been made with the county
superintendents whereby a limited number of sen
iors in the course teach six weeks in the country
schools. Some pay is received for this teaching. The
work outlined covers two years for graduate stu
dents. If, however, the teacher-training hamama
last two undergraduate years are elected the course
may be completed in one year of graduate work.

71

GIRLS OF THE SENIOR CLASS AT TUSKEGEE INSTITUTE LEARNING MANUAL TRAINING.

MUSIC: All pupils receive some training in vocal
music. Special attention is given to the plantation
melodies, which are taught not only for their mus
ical value, but as an expression of the spiritual life
and moral .struggles of the Negroes in America.
Instruction on the piano is provided for those who
are able to pay the special fee.

DISCIPLINE AND PHYSICAL TRAINING : The mil
itary system is maintained among the young men
to cultivate habits or order, neatness and obedience.
The rooms are inspected and the grounds are poli
ced through the military system. Physical train
ing is provided for the young women under the di
rection of a woman trained in gymnastics. The

young women's rooms are inspected by the ma
trons in charge of the dormitories.

Religious training: Considerable provision is
made for religious services. The activities include
Sunday school classes and daily chapel services,
which are attended by all pupils. The voluntary
religious organizations are the Young Men's Chris
tian Association, the Young Women's Christian
Association, Christian Endeavor Society, Tempe
rance Union, and Missionary Society.

LIBRARY: The Carnegie Library contains a
stock room, reading room, librarian's office, and
two rooms for magazines and newspapers. Three
workers have charge of the library department.

THE SUMMER SCHOOL AT TUSKEGEE INSTITUTE.

72

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Photo by Q. V. Buck.

HON EMMETT JAY SCOTT

Emmett Jay Scott

ROM "Who's Who in America,"
we learn that Mr. Scott was born
February 13th, 1873, at Houston,
Texas, the son of Mr. and Mrs.
Horace L. Scott. At an early age,
after he completed the course of
instruction in the Colored High
School.

He was influenced by Bishop J. B. Scott and Rev.
W. H. Logan, D. D., to enter Wiley University. In
order to help provide funds for his education young
"Emmett" carried the mail from the post-office at
Marshall, to the school, a distance of a mile and a
half.

For his services he received Five Dollars per
month. This was during the years of 1887-1888.

Having to divide his summer earnings with the
younger children of the family, he did not return
to Wiley, during the 1889 term until late, for the
lack of funds, and in consequence lost his position
of mail carrier. Nothing daunted, he chopped wood
and fed the school's hogs ; later on, however during
the same year, he became bookkeeper in the Pres
ident's office, which "job" he held until the end of
the school year. The following summer young
Scott was employed as janitor in the Pillot Build
ing, and it was here that he first had a real oppor
tunity to demonstrate his natural aptitude for of
fice work. He attracted the attention of a good-
hearted Yankee, who was President of the War
ren Lumber Company and publisher of the "Tex
as Trade Journal." During odd hours of the
day when he was around in the building he
was give"n an opportunity to make a little ex
tra money addressing wrappers and envelopes
for this company and a little later on, through the
kindness of a Southern White man, he was per
mitted to do similar work for the Houston Com
mercial Club, and finally became one of their reg
ular workers until the club was disbanded. For
several months after this he was unable to find
any work to do until a colored man, Mr. Gibbs
McDonald, who was generally known in Houston
as "Old Man Gibbs," secured for him a position as
assistant janitor and messenger in the office of the
"Houston Daily Post."

Mr. J. L. Watson, Secretary and Treasurer
of the Post Publishing Company, very soon
noticed his good penmanship, and on one oc
casion, on a very busy day, put him to addressing
envelopes. Later, as they found his willing and
ambitious, other responsibilities were given him,
to all of which he measured up with surprising sat
isfaction.

Even at that time the "Houston Post" was the
leading paper of the Southwest and under Mr.
Watson's management became a strong and pow
erful influence in the political and business devel
opment of the South, a place which it still holds.

Mr. Scott himself did not know how well-devel
oped were his powers of observation and expres
sion until on one occasion, when the commence
ment exercises- at Prairie View Normal School
were being held and "The Post" could not spare a
reporter to go to attend, Mr. Johnson suggest-

75

ed that he go to Prairie View and secure the story
for "The Post." The story which he brought back
from Prairieview, and which was published in
"The Post" was prepared with all the detail and
finesse of a veteran reporter. When he left
the employ of the "Houston Post" he had
reached that stage of his growth where he needed
a further outlet for his natural talents. About
that time the "Texas Freeman" was launched at
Houston with J. S. Tibbitt as Editor; Emmett J.
Scott, Associate Editor, and Charles N. Love as
Business Manager. Later Mr. Scott and Mr. Love
acquired Mr. Tibbitt's interest and for three years
"The Freeman," under their management, was the
most powerful and influential organ of the colored
people of Texas. Mr. Love continues the publi
cation.

It was one of the most significant occurances in
Mr. Scott's career as Editor of "The Freeman"
that he was one of the first colored men with suf
ficient vision and interpretation of the signs of
tinies to see that Booker T. Washington was des
tined to be the leader of thought among his race.
This is best told in the recent book, entitled "Book
er T. Washington — Builder of a Civilization," of
which Mr. Scott and Mr. Lyman Beecher Stowe,
grandson of the late Harriet Beecher Stowe, are
co-authors. Concerning Dr. Washington's famous
Atlanta address in 1895 the book says :

"One of the first colored men so to acclaim him
was Emmett J. Scott, who was then editing a Ne
gro newspaper in Houston, Texas, and little realiz
ed that he was to become the most intimate asso
ciate of the new leader. In an editorial Mr. Scott
said of this, the famous Atlanta address: 'Without
resort to exaggeration, it is but simple justice to
call the address great. Great in the absolute mod
esty, self-respect and dignity with which the
speaker presented a platform upon which, as Clark
Howell, of the "Atlanta Constitution" says, "both
races, blacks and whites, can stand with full jus
tice to each."

Since he went to Tuskegee in 1897 as Mr. Wash
ington's secretary, the part which he has played in
the, development of .Tuskegee Institute and its
varied activities is well known to those of our
race who are conversant with current activities.
In 1901, he was elected Secretary of the National
Negro Business League, which position he has held
regularly ever since, and no one in touch with the
work of the Business League can think of this
splendid organization without associating with it
the name of Emmett J. Scott. In 1909, Mr.
Scott was a member of the American Commis
sion to Liberia, appointed by President William
H. Taft. His study of Liberian conditions has
been put in pamphlet form, under the title "Is
Liberia Worth Saving?" and is recognized as an
authoritative treatise on Liberia and its possibil
ities. In 1912 he was Secretary of the Internation
al Conference on the Negro, which met at Tuske
gee Institute.

Mr. Scott's larger activities, other than these
here outlined, have been his co-authorship with Dr.
Washington in writing the book "Tuskegee and Its

People," published in 1910, and with Lyman Beech-
er Stowe in writing the book "Booker T. Washing
ton," published in 1916.

When America entered the war in 1917, there
was considerable uneasiness as to what would be
the status of the Negro in the war and quite nat
urally Tuskegee Institute was one of the centers
which helped in adjusting these conditions. Dr.
Moton, Principal, and Mr. Scott, made frequent
visits to New York and Washington, and were con
stantly in consultation with the authorities at
Washington. Out of these discussions and toge
ther with the activities of other agencies working
towards the same end, the Officer's Training Camp
for Negro Officers was established at Des Moines,
Iowa, and later, following a conversation between
Dr. Moton and Mr. Scott, Dr. Moton interviewed
President Wilson and suggested that a colored
man be designated as an Assistant or Advisor in
the War Department to pass upon various matters
affecting the Negro soldiers who were then being
inducted into the service and as the result, Mr.
Scott went to Washington on October 1st, 1917,
and from then until July 1st, 1919, served as Spec
ial Assistant to the Secretary of War.

Among the things that the record of Mr. Scott's
work in the War Department will show are the fol
lowing:

1. The formation of a Speakers' Bureau, or
"Committee of One Hundred," to enlighten the
Colored Americans on the war aims of the gov
ernment.

2. Aiding in the breaking up of discrimination,
based on color, in the great ship-building plant at
Hog Island.

3. Establishing morale officers and agents at
the Industrial plants, North and South where large
numbers of colored workmen were employed.

4. He was largely instrumental in the enroll
ment of Colored Red Cross Nurses and securing
authorization for the utilization of their services in
base hospitals at six army camps, in which colored
soldiers were located — Funston, Dix, Taylor, Sher
man, Grant and Dodge.

5. The continuance of the training camps for
colored officers and the increase in their number
and an enlargement of their scope of training.

6. Betterment of the general conditions in the
camps where Negroes are stationed in large num
bers, and positive steps taken to reduce race fric
tion to a minimum wherever soldiers or opposite
races are brought into contact.

7. The extension to young colored men the op
portunity for special training in technical, mechan
ical, and military science in the various schools and
colleges of the country, provision having been made
for the training of twenty thousand through the
Students' Army Training Corps, and other practi
cal agencies of instruction.

8. An increase from four to sixty in the num
ber of colored chaplains for the army service.

9. The recall of Colonel Charles Young to ac
tive service in the United States Army.

10. The establishment of a Woman's Branch
under the Council of National Defense, with a col
ored field agent, Mrs. Alice Dunbar Nelson, to or
ganize the colored women of the country for sys
tematic war work.

76

11. The appointment of the first colored regu
larly-commissioned war correspondent, to report
military operations on the western front in France.

12. The opening of every branch of the military
service to colored men, on equal terms with all
others, and the commissioning of many colored
men as officers in the Medical Corps.

13. Large increase in the number of colored
line officers — the total increasing from less than
a dozen at the beginning of the war to more than
1,200.

14. Direct aid and material encouragement in
the "drives" for the Liberty Loans, the Red Cross,
the Y. M. C. A., Y. W. C. A., and United War
Work Relief Agencies in general.

15. The calling and successful direction of a
Conference of Colored Editors and Leaders, which
went far to promote the morale of the 12,000,000
colored Americans, and led to a declaration of the
Government's sympathetic attitude toward the de
sires and aspirations of its colored citizenry. No
conference held for the consideration of Negro
problems has been so fruitful of big results as this.

Dr. Moton, in making his annual report to the
Trustees of Tuskegee Institute in 1918, said of Mr.
Scott :

"Our Secretary, Mr. Emmett J. Scott, who lab
ored so faithfully with Dr. Washington during his
lifetime, and who is standing by the present Prin
cipal with equal loyalty, was loaned to the Gov
ernment to become Special Assistant to the Secre
tary of War. Mr. Scott is fitted, as perhaps no
other man in the country, to do this work with
rare tact and good judgment. Added to his splen
did native ability, he has had a peculiar experience
here at Tuskegee, which has gven him as broad
a conception of and insight into the problems of
race relationship as any man I know.

"I wish I could put into this report some of his
real accomplishments which are having a far-
reaching effect in making lighter the burdens of
our wise, patient and courageous President, and
the Secretary of War, in meeting many of the
problems which have grown out of the enlistment
of thousands of colored soldiers, and at the same
time making it easier for approximately 400.000
colored soldiers now in the service to adjust them
selves to the many trying and difficult situations
which must necessarily arise in the new life into
which they have been so suddenly entered."

Late in June, 1919, it was announced through the
press that Mr. Scott had been elected Secretary-
Treasurer of Howard University, thus bringing to
a close twenty-two years of successful, faithful,
service to Tuskegee Institute, and upon July firs*
he entered upon his new duties.

Perhaps the most beautiful estimate of Mr. Scott
is the following comment from Dr. Booker T.
Washington, which appeared in his book entitled,
"Tuskegee and Its People."

"For many years now, Mr. Scott has served the
school with rare fidelity and zeal, and has been to
the Principal not only a loyal assistant in every
phase of his manifold, and frequently trying duties,
but has proved a valuable personal friend and coun
selor in matters of the most delicate nature, ex
hibiting in emergencies a quality of judgment and
diplomatic calmness seldom found in men of even
riper maturity and more extended experience."

ULYSSES. GRANT MASON, M. D.

HIE good book tells us that men
have varying talents and that
man is not limited to one talent.
It is often noted in men of re
nown that they possess a number
of talents with one or more very
conspicuous.

This is illustrated in the case of Dr. Mason. He
is prominent in his profession as a physician and
no less prominent as a business man and withal he
is a man of marked initiative ability.

Dr. Mason is the son of Isaac and Mary Mason,
and was born in Birmingham, Alabama, Novem
ber 20th, 1872.

He received his preparatory education at Hunts-
ville College (now A. & M. College, Normal, Ala
bama.) Having chosen the medical profession he
next entered the Meharry Medical College, (Wai-
den University,) at Nashville, Tennessee. Grad
uating from this college he sought additional pre
paration in Europe and took a special course in
surgery, at the University of Edinburgh, Scot
land. Returning to this country, he entered up
on his medical career in Birmingham, Alabama.
the city of his birth He at once won recognition
as a physician and soon had an extended practice.

His ability as a physician was recognized by the
City authorities, who appointed him assistant city
physician, which position he held for about eight
years.

Dr. Mason was sympathetic with all movements
which looked to the elevation and advancement of
his people and himself initiated several institu
tions which sought their good.

He was the organizer and founder of the Home
and George, C. M. Hall Hospital ; Founder and
Surgeon to the Northside Infirmary, located at
1508 Seventh Avenue, Birmingham, Alabama. In
1910 he organized the Prudential Savings Bank,
and has been its President since the organization.

These organizations indicate the trend of his
mind — to ameliorate the sufferings of his people,
and encourage them in habits of thrift.

From 1897 to 1908, he had been the Vice Presi
dent of the Alabama Penny Saving Bank.

He is regarded as a man of remarkable business
ability and his reputation is well sustained in the
creditable manner in which he handles all matters
confided to him. He has filled many honorable
positions, both as a citizen and in a professional
way.

He was Delegate at large to the Republican Na
tional Conventions, 1908-1912. Member Clinical
Congress of Surgeons of North America ; member
of the Medical Society of the United States of
America ; member John A. Andrew Clinical So
ciety ; member National Medical Association ;
member of the State Medical, Dental and Phar
maceutical Association, and of the Birmingham
District Medical, Dental and Pharmacy Association.
He is the Endowment Treasurer of Knights of Py
thias ; Trustee of the Central Alabama Institute,
and Trustee of the 16th. Street Baptist Church, of
Birmingham. He has always taken a prominent
part in public affairs. Secretary Baker appointed
him on a committee of one hundred to represent
the Government on War Aims ; he was chairman
of the War Saving Stamps Committee ; Member
of the State National Council Defense and member
of Volunteer Medical Service Corps, Council of
National Defense.

Dr. Mason has been twice married. His first
wife, Miss Alice Nelson, of Greensboro, Alabama,
died September 19th, 1910, leaving him four chil
dren, Vivian. Ellariz, Ulysses G. Jr.. and Alice F.
June 17th. 1916 he married Mrs. Elsie Downs Bak
er, of Columbus Ohio, who has borne him one
child. Dorothy Downs. Dr. Mason finds great
pleasure and pride in his family and home life.

Dr. Mason has accumulated considerable pro
perty .and is among the wealthiest negroes of the
South.

Regarded from every standpoint he is a success.

77

DAVID HENRY CLAY SCOTT, M. D.

ICKNESS and disease is to be
found in all races of men and in
all stations of life and the mar
velous advance mftde by science
in combating its ravages has at
tracted to the profession of med
icine a great many young men. Aside from its re
munerative attraction they see in the medical pro
fession a field of unlimited usefulness. A doctor's
life is not one of ease but the faithful physician
who spends himself in the interest of humanity
feels that he has given his life to a good cause.
Among the young men who were attracted to this
profession was Dr. David Henry Clay Scott.

Dr. Scott was born in Hollywood, Alabama, No
vember 21st, 1871. Like quite a large number of
colored youths he aspired to rise above the lot of
a day laborer and realized that in order to do so he
must have an education and fit himself for some
useful and remunerative occupations. His choice of
a life work was that of medicine so he set that
profesion as his goal and bent all of his energies to
attain a doctor's certificate.

He received his first educational training at the
Huntsville State Normal School where he acquir

ed a good foundation upon which he continued to
build until his education was complete.

He entered the Meharry Medical College, to
prepare for his life work, from which instituition
he received his M. D. Finishing his course
he was ready for business and selected Selma as
the city in which to hang out his shingle. How
ever, he remained in this city only from March to
November, when he moved to Montgomery. His
career in Montgomery is the best testimony as to
the wisdom of this change. His practice contin
ued to grow from the beginning which is evidence
of his ability as a physician.

While Dr. Scott's large practice keeps him busy
he manages to find time to devote to civic matters
and is interested in all matters which look to city
developement.

He was appointed chairman for the colored citi
zens in the 4th. Liberty Loan Drive, the success of
which demonstrated his ability as a leader.

The following extracts from a statement issued
by him in one of the local papers tells the spirit in
which he entered upon this work.

"As chairman of the colored people's Fourth Li
berty Loan drive, I am extremely anxious that we
do not falter in the last hours of this all important
effort to put Montgomery 'over the top," and again
"There is no special honor coming to any one be
cause of this effort. Selfish be he who buys bonds
for the sake of any honor that may come to him in
so doing." Dr. Scott has marked executive ability
as well a liberal endowment of business sagacity
which he has used to great advantage.

Recognizing the need for a better class of build
ings for the colored business man, he purchased a
lot at the corner of Monroe and Lawrence Streets,
and erected thereon a handsome three-story struc
ture. The first floor is occupied as a drug store,
which is run in first class style, having a fine soda-
fount and other modern attractions. The second
and third floors are used for offices and are all oc
cupied by live, wide-awake business men. When
you enter this biulding you are at once impressed
with its business atmosphere. Dr. Scott also owns
and occupies his residence and owns several other
pieces of property.

Dr. Scott was married December 28th, 1897, to
Miss Viola Watkins, daughter of a prominent Con
tractor of the city of Montgomery, who erected
his store building. They have no living children.

While Dr. Scott is interested in all enterprises
which seek the good of his people he is especially
interested in that institution, which in addition to
its humanitarian appeal, interests him from the
standpoint of his profession as a physician and
surgeon — The Hale Infirmary. He is officially
connected with this institution and gives to it his
best thought and skill and much of his time-

78

I
I

KAWALIGA ACADEMIC AND INDUSTRIAL INSTITUTE

HE Kowaliga School was founded
in 1898, by William E. Benson, a
native of the community in which
it is located. It is located in Tal-
lapoosa County, Alabama, in the
center of a community of colored
people comprising about one thousand inhabitants.
It was a part of a general enerprise which includes
besides the school, the Dixie Industrial Company.
It is owned by a board of trustees of prominent
Northern men and women and local colored men.
Represented upon the board is John J. Benson,
father of the founder, a man known far and wide
for his marvelous success as a farmer and a man
who commands the highest respect from both the
white and black citizens.

The need for better educational facilities for the
colored youth of the community had long been
felt and it was to meet this need that suggested
the enterprise which resulted in the building of
the school.

Primarily it was not the aim of the school to
train teachers, but to give to the boys and girls of
the community an elementary education. While
thorough instruction is given to the grammar
grades, the scholars are also given instruction in
manual, domestic and agricultural training. Man
ual training in wood and iron is taught the boys,
along with training in agriculture, while the girls
are taught cooking, sewing, millinery and basketry.
The school is non-sectarian but kept under a strong
religious influence. Although the Bible is not
taught in the day school, devotional exercises are
held each morning before the school work begins.
The teachers and students visit all the churches
in the community and quite often the ministers of
the churches visit the school. The first Saturday
afternoon of each month is known as Mother's
day, when the mothers meet and receive instruc
tion in bread making, house cleaning, laundering,
care of children, etc. They are given samples of
yeast and baking-powder with instructions how
to use them. In addition to their school duties,
the teachers give as much time as is possible in
doing extensive work. They make a house to
house canvass in order to ascertain just the needs

of the patrons and show them the advantage of
sending their children to school. This extension
work is making the school many friends. The
school has a boy's brass band, which arouses much
interest, both in the school and community. The
school has a library of 900 volumes which are used
by the students. The Library needs replenishing
and a better selection of books to stimulate a new
interest in it. Mr. Benson, the founder, died Oc
tober 14th, 1915, and was succeeded by James An
drew Dingus, who took charge of the school De
cember 2nd., 1915.

Professor Dingus was born in Tiles County, Vir
ginia, March 3rd, 1877, and received his education
in Marietta, Ohio, where he graduated from the
High School and received the finishing touches at
the Hampton Institute, in Virginia. He was es
pecially fitted for agricultural instruction and for
three years was placed in charge of the Dairy and
Poultry departments at Hampton Institute, and for
three years had charge of the Agricultural depart
ment at Langston, Oklahoma.

When he took charge of Kawaliga school he
found evidence of excellent construction work
along the line of buildings, but the patrons some
what disorganized owing to the death of Mr. Ben
son- His first work was to meet the local mem
bers of the Board of Trustees and learn the needs
and condition of the school. He realized that three
things were necessary to guarantee success in his
efforts — children to instruct, teachers to teach
them and money to pay the teachers. Having sat
isfied himself upon these points he put his life and
energy into the work with the most gratifying re
sults. The enrollment 1917-18 was 196, with an
average attendance of 115.

The land upon which the school is located com
prises 249 acres, about fifty of which is under cul
tivation. It is the purpose of Professor Dingus to
make this farm not only self-sustaining but a source
of profit to the school. Thus it will serve the
double purpose of a model farm for instruction and
a source of income. Kowaliga is an Indian name,
the name of a little river in the uplands of Alabama,
along whose borders was once an Indian Reser
vation. Here is now to be found a thickly settled
farming community, inhabited by a comparatively
thrifty and industrious class of colored people. In
the center of this community is the Kowaliga
school, exerting an influence over the inhabitants
elevating, refining, and inspiring to a nobler life.

79

REVEREND JOHN BONHAM McDUFFEE

E.V. John Bonham McDuffee was
born in Montgomery County, Ala
bama, May 1st, 1868, and has re
sided in the county of his birth al
most his entire life. The call of
the farm had a fascination for
him, and a tan early age he began his farming
operations. At the age of sixteen he began work
on his own account. His farm was located in Beat
10, Montgomery County, where he has almost con
tinuously since tilled the soil.

Like a great many colored men, his thirst for
knowledge kept pace with his manual efforts so he
gave a fourth of his time to the cultivation of his
mind. He gave three-fourths of his time to the
farm and attended the district school in the winter.
In 1895 he joined the Baptist church at Hope Ala
bama and was by that church ordained to the min
istry and called to be the Pastor of the church at
Letohatchie. He served his church for twelve
years before accepting work elsewhere. The re
sult of his ministerial work has been the serving
of seven churches, two of which he founded and
built from the ground up.

In 1897 he was elected President of the Alabama

Middle district Sunday School Convention, and
held the office continuously for nine years.

In the year 1915 he was elected Secretary of the
same convention, which position he now fills.

Rev. McDuffee believes in taking time by the
foreclock, so when he read that the Boll Weevil
was headed for Alabama, he immediately began to
plan to give him a warm reception, not in the" sense
of a cordial reception but such a welcome as would
prompt him to seek a more congenial clime. The
outcome of his tests and experiments was the "Mc
Duffee Boll Weevil Remedy," a remedy that has
brought him into notice throughout the cotton pro
ducing states.

His name has become a by-word in the homes of
many farmers in the cotton belts.

The cotton production has had to face many dif
ficulties and -has met and overcome many formida
ble enemies, the great enemy it now faces being
the boll weevil. In finding a remedy for this peai
the Rev. McDuffee will save to the cotton produc
ing states much wealth.

No other remedy has accomplished the good in
the destruction of the boll weevil that McDuffee's
preparation has clone and hundreds of farmers have
voiced their praise of the remedy in letters of com
mendation. It came at a time when the farmers
were blue and it seemed that the death knell to
cotton culture had been sounded and like the morn
ing sun it dispelled the mists of doubt and uncer
tainty which hung over the farmer and gave him a
new hope.

Thus it often happens that our brightest visions
come in the midst of our hardest trials. For every
evil there is a remedy and it fell to the lot of Rev
erend HcDuffee to find the remedy for the Boll
Weevil.

Before giving his remedy to the public, Rev. Mc
Duffee partook freely of his own medicine. He
reasoned that if it did not keep his own fields free
of the pest it would be of no practical use to others.
His experiments were so successful that he imme
diately told others of the blessing he had found.
Others have tried it, much to the discomfort of the
Boll Weevil, and the reputation of the McDuffee
Boll Weevil Remedy was assured.

The home life of Rev. McDuffee has been a
mingling of joy and sorrow. He has been married
three times and twice has he stood at the open
grave and watched the bodies of his companions
lowered into mother earth.

His first wife was Miss Elizia Normon, who he
married in 1886. She died leaving him four chil
dren. He next married Miss Susia Woodley, who
gave him nine children. She died August llth.
1913. His present wife was Miss Arlean Johnson,
and from this union has been born two children.

80

GEORGE AUGUSTUS WEAVER, M .D.

R. George Augustus Weaver, the
subject of this sketch was born m
Tuscaloosa, Alabama, November
1st, 1870, where the very atmos
phere breathed the spirit of edu-

cation. Here the Alabama State

University is located, and it is quite natural that a
colored youth who was born and raised in such a
community should have aspirations for learning
and position.

With the fires of ambition kindled he formed the
purpose to secure an education and the fact that the
way seemed hard did not deter him nor change his
purpose. He persevered until his course was com
pleted and he was enabled to hang out his shingle
as an M. D. With the exception of five dollars a
month given him by his father he paid his own way
through school and college. He served as porter
with the Wagner Palace Car Company and the Pull
man Company, and spent such time as not engaged
in the school, upon the road.

This work while it gave him the funds to contin
ue his studies also added to the developement of his
mind. His travels carried him all over the United
States and to many of the cities of Canada, thus

broadening his outlook and giving him a greater
knowledge of men. He commenced his studies in
the city school, of Tuscaloos, his native city, where
a good foundation was laid and prepared him for
the advanced course in other institutions. After
finishing the Tuscaloosa schools he entered the Tal-
ladega College where he graduated in 1892. From
Talladega College he went to Howard University,
at Washington, D. C, and took the medical course,
graduating in 1897. The Howard University was
founded in 1867 by an act of Congress and in varie
ty and quality of profesional training stands first
among educational institutions for colored people.
Thus by his indomitable spirit, energy, patience
and perseverence he secured an education, and com
pleted his medical course in one of the strongest in
stitutions in the land. When he left the University
he was well equipped for his profession so far as
knowledge goes, but without the means to rent and
furnish an office, so he turned again to the road,
and for several months, from May to January,
donned the uniform of a pullman porter. He open
ed his office and began the practice of medicine and
surgery, in March, 1898, in the city of Tuscaloosa,
where he has continuously practiced since.

Dr. Weaver is a member of the First African
Baptist Church and takes an active part in church
life. In recognition of his ability and consecrated
life the church made him Chairman of the Board of
Trustees. He is a member of the Masonic Lodge
and has served as Senior Grand Warden. He is a
Knight of Pythias, and an Odd Fellow, being Grand
Medical Director of the latter. He is also a mem
ber of the volunteer Medical Service Corp. Ex-Pres
ident of Alabama Dental and Pharmaceutical Asso
ciation.

Dr. Weaver was selected as Chairman of the
Fourth Loan drive, and under his management it
went far "over the top." He was one of the "Four
minute-Speakers," in the speaking force to push
the War Saving Stamp campaign, and organized a
class of Red Cross First Aid.

In this time of his country's need his soul burned
with the firts of patriotism, and in this way he
gave expression to his loyalty and relieved the pent
up fires of patriotism which urged him to action.

In 1900 Dr. Weaver was united in marriage to
Miss Mattie A. Wallace, of Wilsonville, Ala., who
together, with two children born of this union, con
stitutes his family. One, a boy eight years of age,
bears his father's name, and the other a daughter,
two and a half years of age, they named Marie Eli
zabeth, and an adopted boy, Everard Weaver, now
a student at Ttiskegee Institute.

Dr. Weaver owns his home, which is a pretty
structure, worth $4000, and in addition he owns real
estate to the value of approximately $13,500.

81

STONE HALL, SELMA UNIVERSITY

R. Robert Thomas Pollard, A. B.,
D. D., was born in Gainesville,
Alabama, October 4th, 1860. He
received his early education in
the common schools after which
he entered the Selma University.
an institution to which he gave
many of his active and useful
years. After graduating from the collegiate
course he began his work as a minister. His first
labors were that of a missionary in the state of Ala
bama. In this work, he traveled for a number of
years all over the state. He next became an agent
of the American Baptist Publication Society, of
Philadelphia, in advancing the Sunday School
work. He gave up this work to enter the service
of the American Baptist Home Mission Society.
Again he became a missionary for the Southern
Baptist Convention and for the Society of Alabama
Baptists. In this service he traveled from church
to church, and from convention to convention, of
the colored people of Alabama.

Having served for a long period as a missionary
he gave up his field of labor for the pastorate and
in this capacity he served a number of the leading
churches in Alabama. He was pastor of the church
es in Montgomery, Marion, Selma, Union Springs
and Eufaula. The next step in his career was that
of an educator, being called to the Presidency of
his alma mater, the Selma University. He con
tinued in this position for nine years, from 1902 to
1911. While holding this office he found frequent
opportunities to preach, presenting the claims of
the University and raising funds to finance the in
stitution. His arduous duties in connection with
this institution impaired his health and caused him
to resign his office as president. He re-entered
the pastorate for a short period, when he was elect
ed President of Florida Memorial College, Live Oak
Florida.

In 1916, his successor, as president of the Selma

l/niversity. Dr. M. W. Gilbert resigned on account
of failing health, and Dr. Pollard was again called
to fill the post. Although he had just been re-elec
ted to the presidency of the Florida Memorial Col
lege, he felt it his duty to respond to the call to
again head the Selma University, which position
he now holds.

The Selma University was born of deep seated
conviction that the great need of the colored race
was an educated ministry. This conviction deep
ened from year to year and was earnestly discuss
ed at the Alabama Colored Baptist State conven
tions. It finally took shape at the convention held
in Tuscaloosa in 1873, by adopting the following
resolution offered by Rev. W. II. McAlpine:

"Resolved ; That we plant in the State of Ala
bama, a Theological school to educate our young
men." This gave to the movement a definite aim
and purpose and inspired it with great activity.
The fight was on and although the battle for suc
cess was hard and long, it was finally won and the
institution is now the pride of the C'olored Baptists
of the state.

Starting the enterprise forty-five years ago with
out funds and only a resolution to incite enthusiasm
and energy, the founders persevered in their work
until their dream of a great university became a
reality.

The University is located at Selma, Alabama,
upon a thirty-two acre tract. It has three brick
dormitories and a home for the President. Its pro
perty is valued at $175,000.00, and is free of debt.

Both Montgomery and Marion wanted the Uni
versity, but Selma won over thorn and secured the
prize.

The first president of the institution was the
Rev. Harris Woodsmall, who was elected Decem
ber 20th, 1877, and directed to open the school the
following January, which he did, with only four
pupils. He had an assistant, the Rev. W. R. Petti-
ford. The session was held in the St. Phillips

82

SUSIE FOSTER HALL, SELMA UNIVERSITY

Street Baptist church, now the First Baptist
church.

May 30th, 1878, five months after the opening
of the school, the Trustees held a meeting in Sel-
ma, and authorized the Executive Committee to
negotiate for the purchase of the "Old Fair
Grounds," which is its present location. The large
amphitheatre upon the grounds was repaired at a
cost of about $700.00, and used for school purposes.
In 1880 the school was adopted by the American
Baptist Home Mission Society, which has since
contributed to its support.

March 1st, 1881, the school was incorporated as
the Alabama 'Baptist Normal and Theological
School, and in 1885 the name was changed to Sel-
nia University.

In 1895 the name was again changed to Alabama
Baptist Colored University, but in 1908. its former
name, Selma University, was restored.

Overcoming difficulties, facing many vicissitud
es, and through great sacrifice, the founders of the
institution, like all great men, these pioneers of
Alabama Colored Baptist, built better than they
knew. The two towering figures among the Col
ored Baptist of Alabama in those days of struggle
and pioneer work were ^. H. Alpine, and C. C.
Boothe. They were both self-made men but men
of great natural ability and force and their influence
was great among the colored Baptists of Alabama,
and they held the confidence and respect of their
white brethren. It was under their leadership that
the school had its inception and through their
effort it was brought to a successful issue, aided of
course by their brethren, who put their souls, their
strength and their means into the enterprise. Dr.
McAlpine has gone to his reward, but Dr. Boothe
is still using his great powers for the uplift of his
people.

The following officers of the Board of Trustees
are men of culture and rare gifts :

P. S., L. Lutchins, D. D., is chairman, R. B. Hud
son, A. M., is Secretary and L. German, A. B., is
Treasurer.

83

It is a divine principle that "By their fruits ye
shall know them." Measured by this standard the
Selma University occupies a high place in the esti
mation of those who have watched its course from
the beginning. Beginning with two teachers and
four pupils, the school now has twenty-three in
structors in charge of about five hundred pupils.
It enrolled one year 782 pupils. It opened with
Normal and Theological courses, but now has a col
lege course. Bachelor of Theology, Bachelor of
Divinity Course, a Pastor's course, a Missionary
course, manual art, Agriculture, Domestic Science,
Sewing and Dress making. Stenography, Type
writing, etc. It has turned out more than six
hundred graduates, who have taken high places in
the various avocations of life. The Institution has
been careful in the selection of its teaching force,
who have come from the noted colleges of the
country. Brown University, Chicago University,
Leland University, Virginia Union University, Har
vard. Yale, Johns Hopkins, Vassar, Columbia Col
lege, Cornell University, Meharry Medical Col
lege, Tuskegee Institute. Oberlin Business Col
lege, etc.. have all made their contributoin.
The University has had eight presidents; Rev. Har
rison Wooclsmall, Dr. W. H. McAlpine, Dr. E. M.
Bra,wley, Dr. Charles L. Purse, Dr. Charles S. Din-
kins, Dr. C. O. Boothe. Dr. M. W. Gilbert and the
present president, Dr. Robert Thomas Pollard.

Dr. Pollard was married in 1887 to Miss Eliza
beth J. Washington, also a graduate of Selma Uni
versity, who has been a great help to him in his ed
ucational work. They have one son who is a pros
perous dentist at Florence, Alabama. Mrs. Pollard
was for ten years President of the Woman's State
Convention, Editress of the "Woman's Era," au
thor of "Guide," one to four and matron of the
Florida Memorial College.

Dr. Pollard has devoted most of his life to the
cause of Baptist education, both in the churches
and the schools, and the greater part of his activi
ties have been confined to the State of Alabama.

MANUAL TRAINING SHOP, SELMA UNIVERSITY

ANDREW JACKSON STOKES, D. D.

OST of those who fill the sacred
office are called to the ministry
after reaching man's estate, but
occasionally one is born to the
cloth. Among these is the Rev.
Andrew Jackson Stokes, who
commenced his pulpit work when a boy only ten
years of age.

Dr. Stokes was born in Orangeburg County, S.
C, July 25th, 1859, and began his ministerial work
in Orangeburg County in the year 1870. From the
first he showed an aptitude for church building and
during his ministry he has built and remodeled a
number of church edifices. His first work was
to build the Mt. Zion and Pisgah churches in Or
angeburg County, and Black Jack Church, in
Winnsboro County. From 1884 to 1886 his field
of labor was Clarksville, Tenn., and here again his
talent for church building was called into play. Be
fore he completed his labors in this city he had
erected a church building costing twenty thousand
dollars. From Clarksville he went to Fernan-
dina, Florida, where he added largely to the nume
rical strength of the church and remodeled its
building.

It was in Montgomery, Alabama, however, where
he reached the zenith of his active and useful life.
Upon the death of the Rev. James Foster, Pastor
of the Columbus Street Baptist Church, Dr. Stokes
was called to succeed him. Coming to Montgomery
in 1891, he has continuously served the church and
is today its beloved Pastor. When he took charge
of the church its membership numbered 500, which
has increased to over 5000. The church, during
his administration has had many seasons of revi
val and he bears the distinction of having baptised
1001 candidates in one day. The growing mem
bership required greater housing, and the old
frame building in which the church worshipped,
was enlarged and remodeled. The requirements
of the congregation soon called for a more mod
ern structure and the Pastor with his natural gift
for church building proved to be the successful
leader in the enterprise. Like a wise leader he
first perfected his plans and then made his people
see the vision which had come to him and enthus
ed them with the spirit of the enterprise.

After months of patient waiting, unbounding
sacrifices, unquenchable zeal and determined effort,
the new edifice was completed and dedicated- And
today is pointed to with commendable pride, not
alone by the congregation but by the colored cit
izens of the Capital City.

While his main thought and effort was the de
velopment of the church life of his people. Dr.
Stokes was not unmindful of their educational
needs, and to meet these, he established in 1891,
the Montgomery Academy, the success of which,
has met his fondest expectations. Starting in a
small way, with two teachers and fifty pupils, it
has steadily grown until today it has six teachers
and two hundred pupils and is housed in a well ap
portioned school building. From its birth, Dr.
Stokes has been the President of the Academy.
The object of the founder was to give to the child
ren a Normal school education and to fit them for
some useful occupaion in life. The range of Dr.
Stokes' active life extends for beyond his home
field. He is a Trustee of the Selma University;
Treasurer of the National Baptist Convention, an
office he has held for the past twenty years, and
Moderator of the Spring Hill Association. By ac
clamation he was elected by the Congress for the
advancement of Colored People, as one of a com
mittee to go to France and study conditions of en
listed men of the United States Army.

Dr. Stokes has been a great traveler, his travels
covering the United States and Mexico, the coun
tries of Europe, Egypt and the Holy Land.

He has accumulated quite a nice property, own
ing about 2000 acreas of land, besides an elegant
home, which adjoins the handsome church building
of which mention has been made. His family con
sists of a wife and two children, Lou Rosa Stokes,
and Hugo Benton Stokes. His son is an M. D.
graduate of Meharry and served as First Lieuten-
in the U. S. Army. Dr. Stokes received his degree
from Princeton in 1914. He is author of a book
called "Select Sermons."

84

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, COLORED,
MONTGOMERY, ALA.

RIOR to the Civil War and for
several years after its close, the
Colored Baptists of Montgomery
worshipped with the white Bap
tists, in their brick church build
ing, situated at the intersection of
Court, Coosa and Bibb Streets. For their accom
modation a gallery was built on both the east and
west side of the auditorium and their spiritual in
terests were looked after by the Pastor of the
church and the white members. They received
baptism at the hands of the Pastor and in the bap
tistry of the church.

Several years after the war the colored mem
bers decided that it would be best to withdraw
their membership from the white church and form
a church of their own, to be ministered to by a
member of their own race. Accordingly in 1867
letters were granted to about forty of the colored
members who organized the Columbus Street Bap
tist church, and called the Reverend Nathan Ashby
to be their Pastor. He served them until the year
1877 when he resigned and the Reverend James
Foster was elected as his successor. During his
pastorate the membership of the church was in
creased to five hundred, like the illustrious William
Carey, the Rev. Foster was a shoe-maker before
he entered the ministry. He served the church
until 1891, when he entered into his long rest. He

was greatly beloved by his people and was highly
respected and esteemed by the citizens of Mont
gomery in general, both white and black. Succeed
ing him as Pastor of the church, was the Reverend
Andrew Jackson Stokes, who came to Montgomery
from Fernandena, Florida. It was under his ad
ministration that the church began that marvelous
growth which has placed it near, if not at the head
of the list of churches in point of membership.
From five hundred members it has grown to five
thousand members, requiring the enlarging of the
old frame building, in which the church worshipped
to accomodate the congregation.

The church saw the need for better equipment,
and were planning, under the leadership of their
Pastor, for a new building and while assembling
material for the new structure, the frame building
was destroyed by fire. This hastened their plans
and gave them new zeal for their work. After
months of untiring effort, generous giving and
willing sacrifices, the building was completed, and
the congregation is now worshipping in one of the
handsomest church edifices to be found among the
colored citizens of the South. The building has a
large auditorium, a commodious Sunday school
room, and the necessary smaller rooms for the ac-
comodation of the church societies, class rooms,
etc. It is well located on a corner lot facing the
Cemetary Park, with nothing to obstruct its front
view for a long distance.

After serving so large a congregation for twen
ty-eight years, the Pastor, Dr. Stokes, is still a man
of great energy, and vigor, and full of zeal for the
welfare of his people. His people stand by him and
it is only necessary for him to lay before them his
plans of work to inlist their cooperation and sup
port. They have found in him a wise and active
leader and they gladly follow him when he points
out the way.

The church will soon have a pipe organ to aid
its splendid choir, which will add no little to the
Sunday services.

The pastor is ably assisted by the following of
ficers : Deacons Wm. Clayton, Chairman, Russell
Johnson, Treas ; Kiltis Singleton, Henry Spear,
Wallace Johnson, Robert Carlton, Wm. Bruher,
Ned Casby, Professor, Henry Ray, Levy Coates,
Sol Wallace, Champ Williams, and Isaac Croom.

The Sunday School is divided into two divisions
— A and B. Prof Henry Ray is head of Division A.
and Division B. is presided over by Willie Beasley
and Pat Johnson. Fred Thomas is at the head
of the Board of Ushers.

Missionary Board: Mrs. Fannie Gable is Presi
dent, assisted by Eliza Jones, Mary Miles, Hardy
Martin, Lucy Prichard, Mary Ward. Willie Hall,
and Jeanette McAlpin-

85

MONROE N. WORK, PH. B., M. A.

C'NROE N. Work, Sociologist and
Writer, Head of the Division
of Records and Research of the
Tuskegee Normal and Industrial
Institute, Editor of the Negro
Year Book. The subject of his
sketch was born in Iredell Coun
ty, North Carolina. He was rear
ed in Illinois and Kansas. His education has been
as follows :

Graduated from high school, Arkansas City, Kan
sas, 1892; in 1895, he entered the Chicago Theolo
gical Seminary, graduating in 1898. While here he
became interested in the subject of sociology, and
decided to enter the University of Chicago, and
prepare himself for work in this field. He remain
ed in this institution five years. In 1902 received
the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy, in 1903 the
degree of Master of Arts, with sociology as a ma
jor subject and experimental psychology as a min
or- His thesis for the masters degree was "Negro
Real Estate Holding in Chicago." This attracted
widespread attention and brought forth many com
ments from the press throughout the country. He
showed that the first owner of property on the site
of what is now Chicago was a San Domingo Negro,
Baptist Point De Saible, who settled here as an In
dian trader, about 1790.

The first position, Mr. Work held after gradua
tion from the University of Chicage was with the

Georgia State Industrial College, as professor of
History and Education. This position he held for
five years. In 1908 he came to Tviskegee Institute
and established the Department of Records and Re
search. The results of the work of this department
are embodied in the Negro Year Book, the first ed
ition of which appeared in 1912. This publication
has become a standard authority on matters per
taining to the race. It circulates widely, not only
in this country, but throughout the world. Wher
ever there are persons interested in the Negro and
wish to secure reliable comprehensive facts con
cerning him, they consult the Negro Year Book.
The following are examples of the comments of the
press concerning this publication :

"Interesting and important is the array of facts
relating to the Negro contained in the Negro Year
Book. The book is a perfect encyclopedia of ach
ievements by Negroes in all ranks of life, of the
history of the race in the United States, of legis
lative enactments relating to them, of activity in all
branches, particularly education. The book is in
dispensable to all who have to deal with any phase
of the Negro question." — New York Sun.

"No better prepared or more comprehensive an
nual comes to hand than the Negro Year Book. It
covers every phase of Negro activity in the United
States, reviews progress in all lines, discusses grie
vances, outlines the economic condition of the race,
presents religious and social problems, educational
statistics and political questions as they relate to
the race. The book is a valuable and authoritative
book of reference." — Indianapolis Star.

Mr. Work is a member of the following learned
societies : The American Negro Academy, The
Association for the Study of Negro Life, and His
tory, The American Sociological Society, The Ame
rican Economic Association, The National Econo
mic League, The National Geographical Society,
and the Southern Sociological Congress.

Mr. Work is also the compiler of statistics on
lynching. His annual reports of lynchings are the
recognized authority on this subject.

The subjects of important articles which Mr.
Work has published in magizines and periodicals,
are: "Geechee Folklore," Southern Workman, No
vember and December, 1905; "Some Parallelism in
the Development of Africans and other Races,"
Southern Workman, November, 1906 and January,
February, March, 1907 ; "The African Family as an
Institution," Southern Workman, June, July, Aug
ust, 1909; "The African Medicine Man," Southern
Workman, October, 1907; "African Agriculture,"
Southern Workman, November, December, 1910,
and January, February, 1911; "An African System
of Writing," Southern Workman, October, 1908 ;
"The Negro and Crime in Chicago," American Jour
nal of Sociology, September, 1900; "Negro Crimin
ality in the South," Annals of American Academy
of Political and Social Science, September, 1913;
"The Negro Church and the Community," South
ern Workman, August, 1908; "How to Fit the
School to the Needs of the Community," Southern
Workman, September, 1908; and many other arti
cles of like nature and importance. "The Negroes
Industrial Problem," Southern Workman, August,
1914 ; "Self Help Among Negroes," Survey, August
7, 1909.

86

REVEREND ALFRED C. WILLIAMS. A. R.. A M.

EV. Alfred C. Williams, the son of
>j i«*»p,i «,jyj Hampton A. and Chanly Williams,
n t^r^^\^ vvas ')orn at Monticello, Florida,
U K?V ^^\ May 28th. 1883. He developed
great mental vigor in his youth
and graduated from the Howard
Academy, of his own town at fourteen years of
age.

He vvas converted and joined the church at the
age of fifteen. During the fall of the same year
he entered the Florida Memorial College, at Live
Oak, Florida, from which he was graduated at the
age of nineteen. In his nineteenth year he was or
dained to the ministry and elected as supply pas
tor of his home church. In June of his twentieth
vear he was called to the pastorate of the First
Baptist Church, of Green Cove Springs, Florida,
which pastorate he filled until he was twenty-two,
at which time lie resigned to enter Morehouse
College, Atlanta, Georgia. During the first year
of his student life, at Morehouse, he was called
to the pastorate of the Antioch Baptist Church, of
Atlanta, Georgia, which pastorate he filled until
June 1912. In May 1912. he received the Bachelor
of Arts degree from Morehouse College. In June
he was married to Miss Louise N. Maxwell, thf

oldest daughter of the late Dr. L. B. Maxwell. Hav
ing received a call to the Mt. Tabor Baptist
Church, of Pulaska, Florida, he resigned the pas
torate of the Antioch Baptist Church, Atlanta, to
accept this the second largest church in his home
state. In one year and three months he led this
church from under debt of more than Five Thous
and Dollars, ($5000,) and the membership was in
creased more than three hundred. On account of
the illness of his wife, he accepted a call to the Mt.
Zion Baptist Church, of Los Angeles, California,
where he remained for three years and at which
time he studied at the University of Southern Cal
ifornia, at which school he completed work for the
degree of Master of Arts. In May, 1916, he was
called o the pastorate of Sixteenth Street Bap
tist Church, Birmingham, Alabama, which he now
fills. The Sixteenth Street Baptist Church was
organized in 1873, by Reverend James Readen and
Reverend Warner Reed. Succeeding pastors were
Reverend J. S. Jackson, Dr. W. R. Pettiford, Rev
erend T. L. Jordan, Dr. C. L. Fisher, Dr. J. A.
Whitted, and its present Pastor, Reverend A. C.
Williams. All of these men wrought well and are
credited with having done a great work. The
church has always stood as a monument to the Ne
gro race, especially the Negro Baptists, of Alabama
who have felt a commendable pride in its work and
achievements. It has had much to do with the
shaping of the religious thought, and molding sen
timent for the race. The Church clings to the
"Old time" religious principles of its faith, but em
ploys modern methods of bringing the Gospel mes
sage to the hearts and minds of the people. It re
cognized the power and uplifting influence of music
and organized a choir whose famous high class
musicals attract hundreds of white people of all
classes throughout the city and district who come
to listen to the old plantation melodies, and jubilees
as well as their high class solos, quartettes and
anthems. All races and creeds in Birmingham
have high regard for this church's attitude in mat
ters affecting the social and moral uplift of the
community. The church has a membership of
more than one thousand. It worships in a most
beautiful structure, an edifice built of brick and
stone, which together with the Interior furnish
ings cost about Eighty thousand Dollars, ($80,000,)
It also owns the Pastor's home which is a good
substantial building. The entire church property
is valued at more than $125,000.00. The interior
is beautifully adorned by expensive art glass, win
dows and other architectural designs calculated to
•give tone, grace and beauty and is highly attrac
tive and pleasing to the most discriminating eye.
A church of this character with a choir holding an
enviable place in the estimation of music loving
people of course has a pipe organ in keeping with
it. The organ is large and expensive and an or
nament as well as an instrument of use.

Since becoming its Pastor, Reverend Williams
has received into its membership more than 700
accessions, and has raised over $23,000 for current
expenses and debts.

87

JOHN G. WRIGHT.
EW Negroes there are in the
South who can conduct their bus
iness in the largest building of
the city in which they live. Mr.
Wright's barber shop has a first
floor location in the largest busi
ness building in Tuscaloosa, adjoining the leading
city drug store and under the rooms of the city
Board of Trade. His shop is patronized by the
leading white men of the city and is looked upon
as the most up-to-date business of the kind in Tus
caloosa.

Mr. Wright was a self-made man, who had no
very great early advantages, either of school, of
parentage, money or environment. He was born in
Hanover, Hale County, in the late sixties. A white
lady taught him the fundamentals of education.
Of general education, such as our children get, he
appears to have had very little.

In 1892 Mr. Wright made his way into Bir
mingham, a town at he time, and began his
apprenticeship as a barber. For eight years he
served in the shops of others in the city of Bir
mingham, first as an apprentice and then as a reg
ular workman.

His ambitions led him to establish a business of

his own. In casting about for a location he de
cided in favor of Tuscaloosa. Here was located
the State University, which offered a good field for
patronage aside from the local trade.

Tuscaloosa has since been the scene of his active
life. Here he established a barber's business,
which is today one of the best in the State.

Courteous in demeanor, attentive to his business
and maintaining a strict integrity, he has won the
confidence and respect of the entire community
and occupies the proud position of being one of the
leading colored citizens of the city.

In thinking of Mr. Wright you do not regard
him simply as a barber but as a business men with
an unusual aptitude for large business enterprises.
He is the proprietor of two shops and they occupy
the best locations in Tuscaloosa, one in the lead
ing hotel of the city and one in its largest business
building.

He does not confine himself exclusively to his
barber shops. He is a dealer in real estate which
has brought him much profit and in a sense is a
promoter of Negro enterprises.

He owns his home — a residence to which his
neighbors point with pride. It is beautifully lo
cated and is built on a quarter of a block. Since
the building for himself he has bought and now
rents thirteen other houses.

From beng strictly in business for himself he has
become a promoter and backer of Negro undertak
ings generally. He is president of the Alabama
Protection and Aid Association, Stockholder and
promoter of the People's Drug Company of Tus
caloosa, Trustee and Treasurer of the A. M. E.
Zion Church of his town and was Grand Master of
the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows of Ala
bama for four years, and resigned this office in
August, 1917, on account of his business requiring
all of his time.

Tuscaloosa is one of the best towns of the South.
One does not here feel the stricture of race pre
judice or opposition. In few if any other towns
in the South can a colored man find such happy
accommodations, handsome homes, educated peo
ple, good restaurants, clean surroundings and the
best of cooking. It needed only the up-to-date
Drug store to round out the comforts of the col
ored people. This was provided mainly by Mr.
Wright, who is both president and treasurer of
the company.

Mr. Wright is a Mason, Knight of Pythias and
Odd Fellow. In his work as Grand Master of the
Odd Fellows of Alabama he has traveled over the
whole country.

Mr. Wright has no children, but he will tell you
that much of his success in business and in life is
due to Mrs. Wright, who was Miss Ophelia Ed
monds of Tuscaloosa.

ARKANSAS BAPTIST COLLEGE.

HE college is a creature of the Ar
kansas Negro Baptist State Con
vention and came into existence
'at the Convention held at Hot
Springs, in August, 1884. After
an experiment of one year it was
incorporated under the name of the Arkansas Bap
tist College. For the first several year of its exist
ence it had no permanent abiding place, but moved
from church to church. It finally located upon its
own property, some distance beyond the city limits
of Little Rock where it has continued until the pre
sent time. Its equipment is not in keeping with
the growth and importance of the institution. The
Administration building is its only structure of
real and permanent value. While the college has
grown the City of Little Rock has far outstripped
it and while encroaching upon it has added greatly
to the value of the real estate holdings. The Trus
tees have already considered the question of a new
location and have secured and paid for one hundred
acres of land, some four miles distant. The land
purchased has a good elevation, is dry and well
drained and excellent for farming operations.

When the present location is sold it should sup
ply sufficient funds to erect a number of modern
structures to meet its requirements. Even with
this advantage it will require outside aid to make
the move and place the institution upon a sure
foundation.

The President, Dr. Joseph A. Booker, who has
been the President since 1887, is now maturing a

plan to secure help from the wealthy friends of the
college.

Its original purpose was to train preachers and
teachers,, but the scope has been enlarged to reach
all clases of the Negro race, and prepare them for
some useful occupation in life.

Special training is given to the developement of
the mind while industrial and farming is a marked
feature of the institution. The training is thor
oughly practical, the students being required to
put to a practical test the theories they are taught.

The attendance of pupils has gone beyond the
three hundred mark, while the teachers number
eighteen. All of the teachers are colored ; male,
eight, and female, ten; divided as follows: grades,
four ; academic, seven ; girls' industries, two ; theo
logy, one ; music, one ; and Matron, one. It is or
ganized as follows : Elementary — The elementary
work covers the usual eight grades. Secondary :
The secondary, or preparatory course, includes La
tin, four years ; English, four ; Mathematics, four ;
Greek or German, two ; Elementary Scinece
two and one half; History, one; Psychology, one;
Bible, three and one half. Emphasis is placed on
ancient languages. Industrial: The girls are in
structed in cooking and sewing.
The industrial instruction for boys is chiefly man
ual training; good work in making brackets, tie
racks, and chairs is done. A few pupils work on
the farm, which is located seven miles from the
school. Gardening has recently been added to the
course of study, with practice on the school grounds.
While it is yet in the nature of an experiment, it
is hoped and expected to be a valuable addition to
the course.

89

JOSEPH HERCULES BARABIN, A. B., M. D.

HE prince of good fellows, the
king of diagnosticians, this is
what they tell you out in Arkan
sas about Dr. Joseph Hercules
Barabin of Mariana. And then
you are regaled with all the hon
ors that colored Arkansas has been only too pleased
to bestow upon its leading physician ; a distinguish
ed Mason, a leading Odd Fellow, a prominent
Knight of Pythias, a substantial Mosiac Templar,
a foremost member of the Royal Circle of Friends
and of the Supreme Council of Good Shepherds,
the local examiner for all the secret orders in the
State, a former athlete, the patron of all athletics.
Moreover, he is a big business man, being pres
ident of the Colored Commercial Club of Mariana,
and owning in addition to his residence, a brick
store, seven rent houses, 286 acres of farm land, all
improved, all free from debt.

Dr. Barabin's rise to a prominent place makes
one of those romantic biographical tales so inter
esting in all democracies, so dear to the heart of all
Americans. Dr. Barabin was born in Jeanerette,
Louisiana, March 19th, 1874. An ex-union soldier,
left over from the war, and none too advanced in
education, gave the young lad his first lessons in

books. When he was sixteen years of age, he made
his way into Gilbert Academy, at Baldwin, Louisi
ana. Five years of study and work, of work and
study, for he was in and out of his classes, having to
pay his own way, completed his studies at Gilbert
Academy. The adage of the ancients, that a little
learning is a dangerous thing impressed him ; and
so the young man sought a higher institution in
which to pursue his studies.

Fisk University was then, as it still is, the star
of hope for a great many Negroes with college as
pirations. Here in 1895, Dr. Barabin matriculated.
In a while he was a leader in all the big things of
college life. He was a brilliant man in the col
lege and city societies (and who knows how much
this social success has counted in his professional
career?) he was a formidable adversary in the
debates and in the oratory of the college, and he
was a ferocious plunger on the football field.

Graduating as a Bachelor of Arts in 1900, Dr.
Barabin resolved that he would study medicine.
Business careers for young Negroes were not com
mon then. The young college graduate had es
sayed school teaching at odd times, and decided that
he did not especially care for life in the school
room.

Casting about for a medical college of high stand
ing, moderate expense and congenial to colored
people, he finally selected the Illinois Medical Col
lege of Chicago. Moreover, he felt that Chicago
would offer the best opportunity for clinical prac
tice and also work in odd times for a student who
was earning his own way. All happily came out
as he had planned, or even better. He was able
along with working in the Pullman service during
summer, to pay two years expenses by playing foot
ball, and to pay the other two years by embalming
the bodies in the medical school. Indeed it was not
long before the embalming department was put in
his charge. Despite his having to work, the voung
doctor was one of the two men in his class to re
ceive a special honor diploma for excellence in
scholarship, and up to that time, the only colored
man to receive this honorary diploma.

In 1905, having finished his medical course, Dr.
Barabin, after casting about for a while, hung out
his sign in Mariana, where it has hung these thir
teen years, and where instead of being forty dollars
in debt, the sum borrowed to start business on, -he
is worth thirty thousand dollars. He is a physi
cian and surgeon, practicing within a radius of fifty
miles, going into the country as well as in the town.
He is frequently called in consultation in Little
Rock, in Memphis, Oklahoma and in many smaller
places.

Dr. Barabin was married on December 28th, 1905.
to Miss Lulu Margaret Benson of Kowaliga. Ala
bama. Their four children, Jennie Maudeline ; Jos
eph Benson; William Strickland and Harold Croc
kett are all little folks getting their first days in
school.

90

WALLACE LEON PURIFOY.

AVE you ever heard of the United
Order of Jugamos? It i| one of
those secret and useful bodies,
• whose secrets are no secrets at
all. It has head and several sub
heads in various capacities-
The head and subordinate officers make up
the Imperial Council of the Jugamos. These are
responsible for insurance relief funds, burial and
the like, of members of the Jugamos. Its present
habitat is Arkansas, the head quarters being in For
est City. However, it is to have state headquar
ters in Tennessee, in Illinois, in Mississsippi, in
Louisiana, in Oklahoma. It has a membership of
7,500 and an annual income of $35.000. The or
ganization has grown at the rate of more than a
thousand members per year, being founded in 1910
and having now a membership of 7,500.

The founder of this order is Mr. Wallace Leon
Purifoy. Mr. Purifoy was born near Perry, Geor
gia, in Houston County, February, ninth, 1869.
Born on the farm, lie put in much time with tin-
plow and hoe.

While still young, Mr. Purifoy left Georgia, and
took up residence in Arkansas, in Forest City.

Here he began his education, attending the public
schools of that city, and Philander Smith College,
in Little Rock. All this seeking and studying to
complete his training was accompanied by hard
work and privation, on his own part and on the
part of a sacrificing mother. The mother did
washing and ironing to aid him through school. He
helped here, however, in the actual work of bund
ling the clothes. Mr. Purifoy did many other
jobs to gain his education. For a while he worked
as a laborer on big buildings ; then he drove drays ;
then he taught school.

When he reached the point in his career where
he could command a school, the burden on both his
shoulders and his mother's began to lighten. Be
ginning to teach school at the age of sixteen, he
devoted many years to the class room both for pu
pils and for teachers before he founded the Juga
mos.

During his early years at the work, he taught
many schools in St. Francis County. He was for
twenty-five years Deputy County Examiner. He
conducted a summer Normal School for teachers,
taught for two years in Texas, and for a while as
principal in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. His real sub
stantial school work, however, was done in Forest
City, his home. Here, for twenty-three years he
has been principal of the Colored High School, reg
ulating the courses until the students from the
Forest City High School are admitted without ex
aminations to any college in the state.

As regular and as steady as has been Mr. Puri-
foy's courses in education, it has been just as
steady and persistent in business. Looking about
him, he saw the city growing and his people need
ing homes. Investing his earnings wisely, he soon
became the owner of several pieces of valuable pro
perty. He built homes to rent and bought lots.
He also built a beautiful residence for himself.
His property holdings, in rent houses, vacant lots,
and his own residence now amounts to $20,000.

Mr. Purifoy has also been Grand Keeper of the
Record and Seals of the Knights of Pythias, of the
state of Arkansas. He is a member and Deacon of
the First Baptist Church of Forest City. He has
traveled extensively in the eastern and Western
parts of the United States.

Mr. Purifoy was married to Miss Fannie J. Wat-
erford, of Edmonston, Arkansas, in 1895. They
were married at Forest City, where they now re
side. There are several children in the Purifoy
family, all of whom, except Harold, a deceased
son, are pursuing their work in school. Wallace
Leon, Jr., is studying pharmacy at North Western
University; Mayme Marie is attending Knoxville
COllege, in Tennessee ; Minnie Edna, Roosevelt, and
Middlebrooks are students in the Forest City High
School.

91

SCOTT BOND.

Scott Bond

N the Southwest they call him
"Unc Scott" and number him
among the sages. They quote
Socrates, Cicero, and Benj. Frank
lin : And then they will quote
_____ "Unc Scott" Bond of Madison.
Arkansas.

Born a slave in Mississippi in 1852, Mr. Bond
migrated as chattel to Tennessee, thence to Arkan
sas. In grapic language such as few others can
employ Mr. Bond told of his coming into the vil
lage of Madison, with all his personal belongings
done up in a red bandana handkerchief thrust on
the end of a stick and swung over his shoulder.

During slavery days and in migrating from State
to State Mr. Bond had learned to judge the soil.
When his eyes fell on the rich loam land of Madi
son, which is really in the valley of the Mississippi,
he flung down his load and exclaimed, "Lord, this
is the place for me."

Like most ex-slaves, who struck out for them
selves, Mr. Bond rented land on which to farm.
You should hear him tell the story of those rentals.
The rent ran up into the hundreds. He used to
sell his cotton to a local merchant who was a sort
of banker, the merchant would credit Bond with
the cotton and then pay the farm rents and other
bills, balancing from time to time. But the bank
er and the landlord got at logger-heads. Thus it
turned out that Mr. Bond had to get the money
and take it to the landlord. The sum demanded
was $500 which he counted out to "Unc Scott" in
crisp bills. Mr. Bond says he looked at the money,
then looked again and again before he would
touch it. Finally he put it away down in his in
side pocket and "sort a hugged it." On his way to
the landlord's he was beseiged with a desire to
look at the money. Fearing robbery he rode into
the deep wood, tied his horse and spread the money
out on a log and went around the log gazing,
Then he said:

"Lord, if I live, I'm goin' to have somebody pay
me rents just this way."

From this hour his struggle began. He married
poor, having little else but a bed and a broken
skillet. He began to work from "Can't to cant"-
can't see in the morning until can't see at night.

He worked in season and out of season, bright
days and rainy days, the weather never stopping
him in the accomplishment of his set purpose. On
cold, rainy days he chopped or hauled or sold
wood. He had caught his vision and had formed
his purpose and no work was too hard for him
nor no obstacles could stand in his way until he
had accumulated a large rent roll.

The way to his goal was extremely hard until by
chance he invested in a small tract of land. Part
of it was a wash out in a creek bottom and offer
ed but little prospect for farm purposes. His neigh
bors thought he was a fool and told him so for
they use plain language out in Arkansas.

Mr. Bond's eye keen for judging the soil no
doubt failed to see in the tract he purchased much
encouragement for growing a crop, but he saw
value in the gravel and sand found in the creek
bottom. The sequel to his purchase showed the
wisdom of his venture.

The Rock Island Railroad was greatly in need
of sand and gravel and just such a deposit as was
found on Mr. Bond's land.

They investigated his gravel pit and immediately
saw they had found what they had been looking
for for many months. They entered into negotia
tions with him which resulted in the signing of a
contract which brought about the development of
one if not the best gravel pit in the state. With
the signing of this contract with the Rock Island
Railroad the stream of money began to flow his
way and it was not long before he realized his
dream and made good his vow. Money was no
longer a marvel to him.

Mr. Bond saw the possibilities of his contract
with the Rock Island Railroad and to meet it would
call for large and modern facilities for handling the
output of his pit. With his characteristic energy
and push he addressed himself to this task and now
has an equipment which meets all demands and
enables him to meet his part of the contract.

As fast as money came in he began to buy more
land to rent out. Today he owns more than four
thousand acres of .rich fertile land and has these
acres peopled with tenants. He owns and operates
one of the largest cotton gins of that section. A-
long with farm land Bond bought timber land.
Finding a big demand for timber Mr. Bond estab
lished a saw mill, now he ships lumber to Chicago,
Pittsburg, and other large cities.

The spot on which he chopped wood for 30 cents
a day when he first came to Madison now holds
his large co-operative store. He owns and lives in
the house of the man who first hired him to plow.
In all, the property and holdings of this ex-slave
are valued at $280,000.

Finer than all this is the fact that this "black
Rockefeller," as some call him, has given his child
ren college education.

He was married in 1877, and his wife has borne
him eleven children, four of which are living. She
has been not only a great help in his affairs but an
inspiration to his life.

93

J. H. BLOUNT.

CHOOLM ASTER and a business
man, Professor J. H. Blount, of
Forest City, Arkansas, has been
fortunate enough to attain and
hold distinction in both his voca
tion and avocation for more
than a quarter of a century. He was born in Clin
ton, Jones County, Georgia, September 17, 1860.
Madison Blount, the father was a slave belonging
to the Blount family of Jones County : the mother
belonged to another family by the name of Ander
son. During the refugeeing of the two white own
ers of the parents, the mother and father were sep
arated.

The parents were thus so widely separated that
they lost track of each other for many years, and
when they learned of each other's whereabouts,
both had married again. The son remained with
his mother all the time, except when he went to live
with his father for the purpose of going to school
in Macon, Georgia.

During the great exodus from Georgia, which
took place in 1873, Rev. I. H. Anderson took many
immigrants to Arkansas as tenants. Among this
number was William Clark, the stepfather of Mr.
J. H. Blount. After spending a few years in the

94

public schools in Arkansas, Mr. Blount yearned for
more and better learning than he could get at that
time in Arkansas. At this time Dr. R. F. Boyd
came to his home town lecturing and soliciting stu
dents for Central Tennessee College and Meharry
Medical College. He induced the young Georgian
to go to Nashville, Tennessee, instead of attending
Atlanta University, Atlanta, Georgia, as he and his
parents had planned. He entered Central Tennes
see College in 1884 and continued in school there
until 1890. During his vacation he taught summer
school in the town of Forest City, Arkansas. As
the summer school of this town gradually grew un
der his tutorship, from a summer school to an
eight months graded school, he finally concluded to
satisfy his thirst for an education by spending his
vacation in the Universty of Chicago, where he
worked very hard for four summers.

He is still a diligent student, and thinks more of
his library than anything, except his children. For
the past twenty-eight years, he has served as prin
cipal of the following named schools : Forest City
Public School, Langston High School, Hot Springs
Arkansas ; Orr High School, Texarkana, Arkansas
and Peabody High School. Helena, Arkansas.

He was deputy County Examiner of St. Francis
County for ten years, and his prominence in educa
tional affairs, made him without his seeking, take
a leading part in politics- His people soon required
that he should take an active part in the affairs of
his county and state. His education and abundance
of general information, coupled with his skill to
manage public affairs, made him a favorite in his
community and county. From state politics, he be
came active in national affairs. He was an alter
nate delgate at large, to the Republican National
Convention, that gave the Nation Roosevelt and
Fairbanks for president and vice-president respect
ively.

Being a teacher in education and in politics, did
not cause Mr. Blount to neglect his church and the
fraternal orders of which he was a member. He is
one of the few thirty-third degree masons of the
state of Arkansas, and has served in nearly every
official position in the Masonic Grand Lodge of Ar
kansas. He has held the position of Secretary-
Treasurer for four terms and that of Deputy Grand
Master for five terms ; he is chairman of the com
mittee on Foreign Correspondence at the present
time.

Mr. Blount is an active member of other frater
nal orders such as the Odd Fellows, Knights of
Pythias, Royal Circle of Friends of the World,
Knights and Daughters of Tabor, and the United
Brothers of Friendship. He is also a leading mem
ber of the Missionary Baptist Church and a Sun
day School worker.

Professor Blount owns hundreds of acres of land,
both farm and forest ; and city property in three
Arkansas towns. His property will readily bring
$50,000.00, which is a conservative valuation, lie al
so carries $20.000.00 in life insurance, not includ
ing his fraternal insurance.

He was married in August 1906 to Miss Almira
Justina E. Payne of Holly Springs, Mississippi, who
was to him a real helpmate till her death in January
1917. In the Blount home there are three children
— J. H. Blount, Jr., Scott Bond, and E. Louise, all
of whom are pupils in their father's school.

BISHOP JAMES M. CONNER, S. T. B., B. D.,
D. D., LL. D., PH. D.

ORN in Winston County, in Mis
sissippi, in 1863, Bishop James
M. Conner fought hard for even
a rudimentary education. Against
all kinds of poor school facilities.
which facilities include the teach
er, he managed to secure his foundation in Mis
sissippi and Alabama. While still a young man
and but mid-way his education he had thought and
planned out for himself his career.

lie felt called to the ministry and like Paul,
yielding to the divine call, he immediately set to
work to prepare himself for his heavenly mission.
Without waiting to complete his education he
took up his life work and went forth holding aloft
the banner of the cross, to an unselfish and de
voted service which he has steadily pursued dur
ing his long and useful career.

Converted in 1881 he at once joined the A. M.
K. (. hurch and was licensed to preach one year
later.

He was given his first appointment in 1883 and
placed in charge of the Aberdeen Mission, Aber
deen, Mississippi. He entered upon his work with
enthusiasm and soon converted his mission into a

live church, erecting a new building for them and
building up a fine congregation. Recognizing his
ability and special endowment for such work
Bishop T. W. D. Ward, the following year, 1884,
made him a Deacon and an Elder.

From this time on his reputation was establish
ed and his co-operation eagerly sought. He was
recognized as a man who did things and it was
generally accepted that when he undertook a ser
vice it would be satisfactorily rendered.

Thenceforth for a number of years he became
known as a church builder and a champion "Dol
lar" money raiser. He built a church at Forrest
City, Arkansas, in 1885. Then a new church at
Oceola and a church at Newport, Arkansas. To
quote Mr. R. R. Wright, Jr.: "At all these places
he gave the connection good churches and added
many new members to the church and carried ex
cellent conference reports, excelling all previous
records."

However vigorously he waged campaigns for
money, erected churches, and converted souls,
Bishop Conner never forgot personal growth. Like
the dying German poet he was always crying
"More Light." To satisfy his longing he went
from time to time to some large institution to
pursue such courses as he needed for his work. In
1891 he received from the National University of
Chicago the degree of Bachelor of Sacred The-
olngy. He later finished courses gaining the de
gree of B. D. from the American Institute in the
University of Chicago, in 1897, and from Shorter
College in 1905. Campbell College conferred
upon him the degree of LL. D. He became
President of the Board of Trustees of Shor
ter College and chancellor of Campbell College and
Lampton College at Alexandria, Louisiana. Mor
ris Brown University conferred upon him the de
gree of Doctor of Divinity, and Paul Quinin Col
lege at Waco, Texas, made him Doctor of Philoso
phy.

That he has richly earned these honors is made
clear from his advancements. He is the author of
several books. Among these being his "Outlines
of Christian Theology," "Doctrines of Christ" and
"The Elements of Success." He has been a dele
gate to every General Conference since 1896. He
was a member of the financial board for eight
years.

Bishop Conner was married to Miss Glovenia L.
Stewart, of Kentucky, in 1886. They had three
children, two of which died- Zola X, their only liv
ing child was a student of Shorter College. James
and Qu!ntella died young.

Bishop Conner is an extensive property holder,
owning his home and other valuable pieces of real
estate. At present he is Bishop of Arkansas and
Oklahoma.

95

S. W. HARRISON, M. D.

HAT no man is a hero to his valet,
or to his neighbor, is somtimes
disapproved. This is true in the
case of Dr. S. W. Harrison of Fort
Smith, Arkansas. He was born in
Fort Smith ; was educated as far
as possible there and returned there to practice his
profession. Yet, so useful has been his career that
his neighbors speak of him in their papers as fol
lows :

"Dr. S. W. Harrison, President of the Negro
Business League and Colored Fair Association, is
one of the best known leading Negroes of this sec
tion.

"He is one of the greatest exponents of the pro
gressive side of his race, and delights to furnish
others with examples of race progress. He ranks
with the foremost physicians of the state ; is one
the most astute of business men and wields an
influence in the city among both races that is
equaled by few."

As his life story will show, not always has Dr.
Harrison's name been a symbol of progress and
emulation. Born in Fort Smith, September 22nd,
1879, he began at a very early age to taste the

fruits of combat sometimes bitter, but nevertheless
stimulating. He attended Lincoln High School of
his native city and was graduated in 1895. He was
graduated from Meharry Medical College in 1900.

Both in medical school and in high school his
education cost him dearly. In his early school days
he made himself a sort of grocery delivery wagon,
carrying goods to so many customers for a stipu
lated sum. However, this latter proved a most
profitable investment ; for the people he once served
with groceries are now among his best patrons.

Dr. Harrison's choice of a life work was medi
cine and surgery, but how to secure the necessary
preparation for his work was a problem which re
quired great nerve and determination on his part
to solve. Nothing daunted he left for Nashville
and arrived there with only ten cents in his pocket.
He did not have the money to purchase his neces
sary books but overcame this difficulty by bor
rowing books until he had earned sufficient money
to buy his own.

During the summer he taught school but at one
time this post failed him, and he was again con
fronted with the problem of how to continue his
course. However, he was determined to do so and
while brightening his wits to find a way to secure
his end, he gave up the school master's rod and
books for the boot black's brush and box and went
forth to shine shoes.

Graduating in 1900 Dr. Harrison first opened
office in Smithville, Texas. After remaining here
four years he decided to return to his native city.
Here he has worked, as a physician, a business
man, a man of public service. He is a member of
the A. M. E. Church, a Mason, an Odd Fellow, a
Knight of Pythias, a Mosaic, a member of the U.
B. F. of Tabor and of all local societes. As has
been quoted he is president of the Negro Business
League ; he is ex-president of the state Medical
Association ; he is a trustee of Shorter College ;
Grand Trustee of the Knights of Pythias, medical
inspector of the Negro Public Schools of Fort
Smith and a high ranking candidate for the Grand
Chancellorship of the Knights of Pythias.

His business ventures have been as successful as
his practice in medicine and his public service. He
owns his home, an elegant two story residence on
Ninth Street in Fort Smith. He owns eight rent
houses and six unimproved lots. He is a stock
holder in the Standard Life Insurance Company of
Atlanta. Georgia. He has traveled extensively in
this country on business and for pleasure.

Dr. Harrison was married to Miss Margie Ka-
tona Gordon, December 31, 1902. Their two child
ren, Margie Edith, who is fourteen, and Gordon
Henry, who is twelve, are in school.

96

FERDINAND HAVIS.

HERE are few men of any race
who carry so much of the bone
and fibre of American history in
their personal experience as does
Ferdinand Havis, of Pine Bluff,
Arkansas. He is one of those
typical Americans, almost impossible in other
countries, who from the bottom of the scale, suc
ceeds by hard work in reaching the top.

Mr. Havis was born in Shay County, Arkansas,
November 15th, 1847. He attended for a little
while the public school. But at an early age he
had to leave school to work. A very novel plan
was then hit upon as a means of getting an educa
tion for the young man. His mother went to the
school each day, mastered the lessons and then at
night taught them to the ambitious boy who was
so eagerly waiting for them. A boy with the am
bition makes a man of mark.

By the time Mr. Havis was twenty-one he had
run the gauntlet as a laborer. He had learned the
barber's trade and opened a ship in Pine Bluff.
Three years later he was elected alderman from the
third ward. Year after year for the space of twen
ty-four years, Mr. Havis was elected and served in
this capacity. In 1873 he was elected to the state

Legislature, but he resigned this post to serve as
assessor. This post of assessor was offered him
by Governor Baxter, and he served in it for two
years. In 1882 he was elected Circuit Clerk, a
post which he held for ten years. He was Re
publican Nominee for United States Senator from
Arkansas, in 1886. Mr. Havis has served his
party as a delegate to the National Republican
Convention every year since 1880 with the ex
ception of two years. These exceptions were in
1912 and 1916, when Taft and Hughes were nomi
nated. He was a colonel on the staff of General
H. King in the Brooks and Baxter War, and was
one of the 306 who stood by General Grant in his
endeavor to become president of the United States.
He is on record as having voted for General Grant
thirty-six times. He was chairman of the Repub
lican County Control Committee of Arkansas for
twelve years. This shows in brief the political life
of Mr. Ferdinand Havis.

Having made good in his political career by ap
plying himself to the task in hand, Mr. Havis, when
he decided to retire to private life, used the same
method of self applicaton in the work he began.
The same acumen which kept him in office and on
boards of importance soon asserted itself in dealing
in real estate and in farming. Mr. Havis has inves
ted heavily in farm lands. He owns about 3000
acres. Of this amount, 1000 acres are under culti
vation. The rest is in pasture land and timber. In
addition to this country property, Mr. Havis has
large interests in the city. One of the buildings
which he owns, a building on Main Street, rents for
$200 per month. He also has half interest in four
stores which bring in rent. Then to private fam
ilies he is able to rent twenty-five homes.

Mr. Havis owns his own home. This is a beaut
iful place on one of the principal residence streets
of Pine Bluff. Here he lives with his family. Mr.
Havis has been married three times.
There are two sons and one daughter.
In his church and loge affiliations, Mr. Havis is a
member of the A. M. E. church, of the Masons, a
member of the United Brothers of Friendship, of
the Odd Fellows and of the Knights of Pythias. He
is the Grand Master of the United Brotherhood of
Friendship of America and of the world. He is
president of the Board of Trustees, of the Lucy
Memorial Hospital. Mr. Havis is referred to by
all Pine Bluff as their Colored Millionaire.

Since the above was written, Mr. Ferdinand Ha
vis has passed away. After about a month's illness
he died at his home on Baraque Street, August 25,
1918. Pine Bluff feels that it has lost a very sub
stantial citizen.

97

NAPOLEON BONAPARTE HOUSER, M. D.

OMING from a family of workers,
Dr. N. B. Houser, M. D., of Hel
ena, Arkansas, has found it sec
ond nature to make work his di
version as well as his occupation
When he was nine years old he
began working with his father. It was not an
easy trade that he put his hands to, being that of
making brick. However he acquired and worked
with a diligence and patience that astonished and
pleased his parents. From the age of nine to the
age of sixteen during spare hours and school holi
days and vacations, he labored away, making brick,
learning the ins and outs of the trade.

At the age of sixteen, the father's business hav
ing greatly multiplied, the son became private sec
retary and bookkeeper. This post he held for six
teen years, estimating contracts, and figuring out
margins, pertaining to his father's interest as if
he were really joint partner of the firm. It was
really through him that the father was able to
gain fair profits and to maintain his contracting
business on a systematic scale. Though engross
ed in keeping accounts, the young man did not for
get, however, that he had a duty to himself and to
his people, the duty of educating himself and of

serving. Born near Castoria, in Gaston County,
North Carolina, February 14, 1869, he attended the
schools round about, until he was sufficiently ad
vanced in years and books to enroll at Biddle Un
iversity at Charlotte, N. C. Completing this work
at Biddle and becoming convinced that his calling
in life was that of a doctor, though a good position
was awaiting him back there with his father, he
became a student in Leonard College of Medicine
at Shaw University in 1887, won the prize "tor su
perior knowledge in Obstetrics", did the four year's
work in a little less than three years, graduating
in 1891.

Returning to Charlotte, the seat of his alma
mater, Biddle University, he hung out his sign and
began life's bsuiness. He soon became what is
known as a "successful practicing physician." With
his general practice he became the consulting phy
sician for Biddle University. Paying a visit to his
brother in Arkansas in 1900, Dr. Houser was so
favorably impressed with the possibility for a good
doctor and drug business that though having well
established himself in his ten year's practice at
Charlotte, he decided to go west and build anew
his practice and to contribute his mite in building
up the country; and so he left North Carolina,
where he was most popular with the men of his
profession, having served as president and secre
tary of the North Carolina Colored Medical Asso
ciation, and having been physician in charge of the
Samaritan Hospital at Charlotte for three years.
In Helena, Arkansas, where he began his new
career, progress in his profession surpassed even
that of North Carolina. Beginning practice here
in 1901, he had by 1908 gained sufficient footing
and confidence to open the Black Diamond Drug
Store, a business which prospered from the out
set, which, because of expanse, he had to move
three times, until now he has it on one of the main
streets and in one of the most desirable spots in
Helena.

Had Dr. Houser not been a brilliant success as a
physician and a man of business, he would still no
doubt have been a very poular man ; for he is a
musician of rare talent, playing on many different
instruments, an engaging companion, a fervent
church worker, being a Baptist in his religious
choice, and a member of nearly every lodge extant
in the state of Arkansas — a Mason, an Odd Fellow,
a Knight of Pythias and a Mosaic Templar.

In all of these orders he made his personality
felt and contributed no little to their work and
development. He was not content to be a mem
ber only but brought to their aid his great fund of
intelligent executive ability.

Dr. Houser was married to Miss Amie A. Alston
of Louisburg, North Carolina, January 18th, 1902.
One daughter, Weillie Henry, graces their home.

MRS. MAME STEWART JOSENBERGER, A. B.

RS. Maine Stewart Josenberger,
one of the really remarkable wo
men of the age, was born in Os-
wega, New York. In her youth
she attended the grammar schools,
the high school and the Free
Academy of Oswega. From the Free Academy of
Oswega she went to the Fisk University, Ten
nessee, where she graduated with the degree of
Bachelor of Arts.

After her graduation at Fisk she entered the pro
fession of school teaching and began a long career
as a school teacher. This covered a period from
1888 to 1903.

During her first year as teacher she gave in
struction at the State Normal School, at Holly
Springs, Mississippi. This was in 1888 and 1889.
In 1890 she taught in the graded schools of Fort
Smith, Arkansas, and from 1891 to 1901 she was
a teacher in the Fort Smith High School.

While in the school room Mrs. Josenberger was
the model teacher, her whole thought and atten
tion given to her work, but after school hours her
mind had time to take in other interests and she
was soon identified with those institutions seek
ing the uplift of the Negro race. It was contrary

to her disposition to be a passive member in the
orders to which she belonged and her activity and
thorough equipment for service was soon recog
nized by them and led to her rapid promotion
among them.

These duties finally took so much of her time
that it became necessary for her to choose be
tween them and her profession of teacher. Be
lieving that she could serve her people best along
the lines of public service she yielded to the point
ing of Providence and gave up the school room for
a larger sphere of usefulness.

Thus in 1903 she left the school room to take
the position of Grand Register of Deeds in the Or
der of Calanthe, a position she has held continu
ously for fifteen years.

Mrs. Josenberger lost her husband in 1909. From
then until she became Register of Deeds for Calan
the she conducted the undertaking business left by
him. Her public duties and engagments now be
came so pressing that she gave up altogether the
business of her husband and devoted her energies
to work for the public good. She had joined the
Episcopal Church in 1909, being confirmed by Rev.
Father McClure, who was at that time archdeacon
of Arkansas. She joined also the Royal Circle, the
Eastern Star, the American Woodmen, and several
other fraternal orders. In all these bodies she be
came an adviser and a leading worker.

It would seem that these were enough member
ships for any one person to hold, especially where
one is a worker as is Mrs. Josenberger. But Mrs.
Josenberger was soon enlisted outside the state.
She became a member of the Standard Life Insu
rance Company and was forthwith put on the Ad
visory Board. She joined the National Negro Bus
iness League, soon becoming a life member. She
is a member of the N. A. A. C. P., Past Supreme
Conductress of the Order of Calanthe ; President of
the Phyllis Wheatlely Club, which is the first local
Federation Club of Fort Smith, is vice president of
the State Federation and chairman of the peace
committee among the N. A. colored women.

Serving in so many positions Mrs. Josenberger
has traveled extensively and has had wide and help
ful contact.

Mrs. Josenberger was married in 1892 to Mr.
William Ernest Josenberger, who was a postman in
Fort Smith, then an undertaker. She is as suc
cessful in business affairs as she is in doing uplift
work. She is worth about $30,000 which includes
a two-story cement store building and a two-story
brick building, which has five stores on the first
floor and a large auditorium on the second.

Mrs. Josenberger has one daughter, William Er
nest Josenberger — now Mrs. Joseph L. Stevens, a
musician.

99

Scipio Africanus Jordan

CIPIO Africanus Jordan, is one
of the old and leading citizens of
Little Rock, Arkansas. He has
grown with the city and each is a
sort of mutual contributor to the
growth of the year. He was
born in Montgomery County, Arkansas, January
1st, 1860. Mr. Jordan, when a lad, attended the
public schools of Little Rock and later the colored
High School. He was a member of the first grad
uating class of the Little Rock Colored High School
which awarded its first diploma in 1880.

After graduating from the Little Rock Colored
High School, Mr. Jordan cast about for work and
entered the service of the United States Govern
ment, becoming a janitor of the post office build
ing. This position he held for twelve months when
he received the appointment of letter carrier. As
letter carrier he went his daily rounds over mi
streats of Little Rock for more than thirty-six
years delivering mail. By his courteous and oblig
ing manner he made many friends among all
classes. He was possibly the best known man in
Little Rock — men, women and children knowing
him by name and watching for his daily visits.

In 1896 he was appointed chairman of the Board
of Civil Service Examiners for the Post Office of
Little Rock.

While Mr. Jordan gave his first thought and at
tention to his business and won favor with the
Government, as his promotions give evidence, he
always found time to serve his people and became
interested in all agencies looking to their good. In
and help and his fellow citizens found in him a
all matters pertaining to the betterment of the
colored race he gave the benefit of his wise counsel
and help and his fellow citizens found in him a
willing helper.

He joined most of the secret orders of his state
and became very active in their work and soon
was a recognized leader among them, taking a
prominent part in all their gatherings and in the
working out of their plans.

His fine executive ability advanced him to posts
of honor and responsibility. In 1889 he was elect
ed Chief Grand Mentor for the Knights of Tabor
and then ten years later in 1899 he succeeded
Father Moses Dickson as International Chief
Grand Mentor. Both of these positions he is still
holding which is a glowing tribute to his worth
and popularity.

However, these posts did not tend to lighten his
responsibilities, but rather to increase them. He
has long been a member of the Bethel A. M. E.
Church of his city, for twenty years he has been

a trustee. He is a Mason, and an Odd Fellow as
well as a Knight of Tabor. He became a mem
ber of the Lincoln Farm Association in 1907. He
has been colonel, acting on the staff of the major
of the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows for a
number of years. Working in so many positions
Mr. Jordan has traveled in all of the United States
combining business and pleasure.

Mr. Jordan has accumulated a goodly amount of
real estate and personal property in Little Rock.
He owns his home, one of the best residences of
Colored Little Rock. He owns eleven vacant lots
and eleven rent houses.

Mr. Jordan was married in 1884 to Miss Pinkie
E. Venable of Little Rock. Mr. and Mrs. Jordan
have a large family, there being born to them 9
children, seven of whom are living. Toney C. Jor-
don, who is deceased, was a graduate of Howard
University ; Miss Mabel E., who is now married,
is a graduate of the public schools of Little Rock ;
Dr. J. V. Jordan is a dentist, being a graduate from
the school of denistry, of Howard University, and
of Northwestern ; Miss Scipio is a graduate of the
public schools of Little Rocok and of Philander
Smith Commercial department ; Yancy B. is a grad
uate of the pupils schools, mechanical course, and
is now in the Virginia shipyards; Miss Myrtle is
pursuing a commercial and high school course at
the Arkansas Baptist College; Valmer H. is a
school boy and Olga is still enjoying the freedom of
childhood.

Had Mr. Jordan done nothing but rear and edu
cate this large family he would still have deserved
a place of honor among those of his race or any
race for contributing so largely to the welfare of
the race and state. His children stand as monu
ments to the earnest endeavors of this man. Not
one of the large family, but was sent through at
least one school and most of them secured two
diplomas. Mr. Jordan himself, though born at a
time when it was easy for the colored lad to miss
getting an education, was a graduate. Having ed
ucated himself at a sacrifice, he was willing to do
all in his power for the development of his chil
dren. But as is the law of things, while doing for
his children, he continued to advance himself. We
find Mr. Jordan developed into one of the leading
citizens of his city and state. He is a real asset
to the community of which he is a member. His
work in the various organizations of which he has
been for a great number of years one of the leaders
has been one of the things that has made of Little
Rock a good community for our people. Mr. Scri-
pio A. Jordan can well be pointed out to the young
as one worthy of emulation.

100

ELIAS CAMP MORRIS, D. D., PH. D.

EAR Spring Place in Georgia,
born a slave, May 7, 1855, Dr. E.
C. Morris of Helena, Arkansas,
was fortunate enough to have a
father who could read and write.
The father, a tradesman from
North Carolina, was permitted to
visit his children on the planta
tion twice a week. At such times he taught his
children to read and write.

In 1864-65 Dr. E. C. Morris attended school at
Dalton. He also studied in the public schools of
Chattanooga, Tennessee and at the Stevenson In
stitute in Alabama. In 1874-75, he was a student
at the Nashville Institute, now Roger Williams
University.

Going into life Dr. Morris essayed many things.
For a time he taught school in North Alabama.
While serving as a minister in Alabama, he
worked at his trade as a shoemaker. In 1877
he set his face westward, intending to go to
Kansas. Stopping over in Arkansas he decided to
remain in Helena. Here in 1879, he was ordained ;
here he was given his first church, the only church
over which he has presided and he is the only pas
tor the church has had for nearly forty years. This
church, the Centennial Baptist, over which he be
came pastor, was at that time composed of a group
of twenty-two members, homeless and without
property of any kind. Today it has a membership
of seven hundred, a stately edifice, which is valued

101

at $40,000, an active Sunday School of 399 children.
While toiling for the growth of his church, Dr.
Morris launched forth every kind of movement to
promote the religious growth of the whole state.
In 1879, the same year he became pastor of Cen
tennial Church, he organized the Phillips Lee and
Monroe County District Association, and was sec
retary for two years. In 1880 he was elected sec
retary of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention
and served in this capacity for two years. In 1882
he was chosen president of the Arkansas Baptist
State Convention, a position he has held for thirty
six years. He founded the Baptist Vanguard, a
Baptist weekly newspaper, and was its editor for
two years. He helped to found Arkansas Baptist
College in 1884, and was chairman of the board of
trustees for twenty-four years . For eighteen years
he has been chairman of the Arkansas State Mis
sion Board, an organization which works in con
junction with the National Baptist Convention and
with the Southern White Baptist Convention. In
1891 he was made vice president of the National
Baptist Convention, and president in 1894.

Under his administration many plans for expan
sion have been effected. At his recommendation,
the National Publishing Board of Nashville, the
Baptist Young People's Union of Nashville, the
National Baptist Woman's Auxiliary of Washing
ton, D. C., the National Benefit Association, and the
Baptist Home Mission Board of Little Rock, have
all been organized and advanced until they are now
among the perfect bodies of their kind.

Outside of his special sphere Dr. Morris began
to win many honors both in the church and in pub
lic affairs. He aided in organizing the General Con
vention of North America, which is made up of all
Baptists of both races, and is the only Negro mem
ber of the executive committee of this body. He
aided in organizing the American executive com
mittee of this body. In public life he represented
the First Arkansas Congressional District at the
Republican National Convention three times — at
the nomination of James G. Elaine in 1884, of Benj.
Harrison in 1892; of Theodore Roosevelt in 1904.
He was alternate delegate at large in 1908 to nom
inate William H. Taft. He has been a delegate to
every Arkansas State Republican Convention for
nearly forty years.

Active in the church and in the state Dr. Morris
has not forgotten the business interest of colored
people. He organized the State Business League ;
he took great interest in the Mound Bayou Oil Mill
project, becoming one of the directors ; he is di
rector of the Phillips County Land and Investment
Company. He himself owns mining stock, has a
seventy-five acre farm, owns unimproved property,
has a home and four pieces of improved property,
valued at $10,000.

Dr. Morris was married in 1884 to Miss Fannie
E. Austin of Faekler, Alabama. Their five children,
Elias Austin, Frederick Douglass, Mattie M. Mar
quess, Sarah Hope and John Spurgeon, are all giv
ing good account of themselves. Mr. Elias Austin
is First Lieutenant in Company M. 366 Infantry U.
S. A. ; Frederick Douglass is Grand Keeper of Rec
ords and Seal of Knights of Pythias Grand Lodge,
of the Arkansas jurisdiction. Mrs. Marquess and
Miss Morris are teaching school. John Spurgeon
is a student in the Arkansas Baptist College.

JOHN EDWARD BUSH.

John Edward Bush

VER since J. E. Bush departed
this life he has been the subject
of eulogy. And yet it is very
doubtful if any assembling of
words, no matter how frought
with poetic figures, will prove so
eleoquent, as the plain simple recitation of the facts
of that heroic struggle of his from poverty and
neglect to a place of the highest esteem in the
hearts of all American Negroes. Mr. Bush was
born a slave. He was born in Moscow, Tennes
see, in 1858. Shortly after slavery he was brought
to Little Rock, Arkansas, by his mother. In a lit
tle while the mother died, and the ex-slave lad was
left in the streets of Little Rock an orphan.

Merely to live now became to him a very serious
problem. He slept in houses when he could find
a man or woman so kind as to extend to him that
privilege, a privilege which was some times ac
corded for such small services as the little boy
could render. Most commonly however he slept
under bridges, in the livery stables and in deserted
houses. He earned his bread by doing chores, run
ning errands, watering stock, and washing dishes.
Moreover, J. E. Bush was classed as a bad boy,
which did not help him to get a night's
lodging or an extra crust of bread. However, some
good soul forced him off the streets into a school
house. In a little while the boy of mischief was
lost in the study of books. Though he could not
afford regular attendance, yet he tasted enough to
pronounce the food of the right kind and whole
some. Henceforth John E. Bush was a student.
He made such good out of his spare time in the
midnight hours that he soon became a school teach
er. This post he held in Little Rock for a number
of years. However, it appears that he overstepped
the bounds circumscribed for one of his station, by
marrying out of his class. He lost his position im
mediately. He secured the principalship of a school
in Hot Springs and taught here for two years. In
1875 he entered the railway mail service. For sev
enteen years he followed this calling, but finally
resigned to start a newspaper.

All the time Mr. Bush was an active Republican.
In 1884 he ran for the county clerkship of Rosalie
County, Arkansas, on the Greenback Ticket. In
1898 he was appointed United States Land Office
Receiver by President McKinley. He was reap-
pointed by Theodore Roosevelt and again by Presi
dent Taft. He even survived the Republican Black
Broom, which swept Negroes so very clean from
Federal Offices, under the kind Mr. Taft. This ap
pointment had come and was the result of a long

series of hard fights and small victories in the pol
itics of Arkansas.

In 1882 Mr. Bush founded the Mosaic Templars
of America. How he came to found this order, and
what the order means to the Negroes of America
has been briefly told elsewhere — for the few who
may not know tHe whole history already. Suffice
it to say here that the need of a poor woman, beg
ging for help to bury her husband, the contempt of
a white man and the chagrin of Mr. Bush at the
whole situation started this organization. The
body grew rapidly, and with it grew also J. E.
Bush. He learned not only more about the intri
cacies of business but he learned a great deal about
men. Most important of all, the organization
brought J. E. Bush the deserved place he had won
by hard work.

In a few years he became known the country ov
er as a strong business man and a public benefac
tor. He was introduced to Booker T. Washington,
and almost immediately these two giants, both with
the experience of sleeping under bridges, behind
them, became fast friends. When Booker T. Wash
ington, who was himself a great political adviser,
sought political advice, it was to J. E. Bush he turn
ed. When the wizard of Tuskegee was touring the
states of the south and bewitching the great crowds
with his anecdotes and shrewd common sense, he
frequently called into service the founder of the
Mosaic Templars of America, and when Dr. Wash
ington saw the need of laying the task of carrying
forward the work of the Negro National Business
League upon the shoulders of a group of strong
men, J. E. Bush was one of the first looked to . He
was for years one of the Vice-presidents and a
member of the executive committee of this body.

Though an extremely busy man J. E. Bush found
time to do many deeds of uplift in schools, church
es and the like. He was a strong supporter of the
Arkansas Baptist College and a trustee of the First
Baptist Church of Little Rock. In secret orders,
he was a Mason, an Odd Fellow, and of course the
founder and promoter of The Mosaic Templars of
America.

Mr. Bush was married in 1879, to Miss Winfry of
Little Rock. Mr. and Mrs. Bush had three children,
all three of whom survive their father: Miss Stella
E. Bush, Mr. Chester E. Bush, who succeeds his
father as the National Grand Secretary and Treas
urer of the Mosaic Templars and Alridge E. Bush,
who is the Secretary and Treasurer of the Mon
ument Department of the Mosaic Templars.

John E. Bush left a fair name, a business in per
fect order, and worldly possessions amounting to
$500,000.

103

MOSAIC TEMPLARS' OFFICE BUILDING, LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS.

ENTION the Mosaic Templars of
America and you think of John
E. Bush. Mention John E. Bush
and you think of the Mosaic Tem
plars. The Mosaic Templars ot
America was founded by J. E.

Bush in 1883. Its two sponsors were John E. Bush

and C. W. Keats. As stated by Hamilton McConi-
co, the organization had its beginning from a three
fold source : The scorn of a white man, "a Negro
woman's poverty and a Negro man's shame." All
this arose out of J. E. Bush standing on the street
talking to a white man when a colored woman
came by begging for alms to bury her dead hus
band. The white man like Mr. Bush, gave, but he
afterwards cast aspersions on the Negro people for
their improvidence. From this John E. Bush re
solved to found an order which should protect the
poor of his race.

The organization was started as a benevolent
society, with no intention of operation outside of
Little Rock. But in a few years the demands for
its services drew it into other states. It began with
one lodge and fifteen members. It now has 2,000
lodges and a membership of more than 80.000. It
began in one city. It now operates in twenty-six

104

states, in Central America, Panama and the West
Indies. It opened without sufficient funds to in
corporate. It now has assets exceeding $300,000.
It started without shelter, the two founders work
ing out their plans on the doorsteps of an old build
ing. Today upon the site of the old building it has
one of the finest brick, steel and stone structures
of any Negro lodge in America, a building which
has offices, stores, and all kinds of rooms to ac
commodate the business and professional men of
Little Rock. Thus has it brought pride and self-
respect to all the Negroes of Little Rock and in
deed to the Negro everywhere.

When the two founders of the Mosaic Templars
sat on the steps of that old building in Little Rock,
their only thought was to provide a means of safe
guarding the pennies of the poor and needy. They
had no dream of departments, sections and various
ramifications of a great order. As the body grew
and gained the unlimited confidence of the people
everywhere, however, they with the helpers it was
necessary to call in, found that many departments
and divisions had to be formed to meet the more
complex needs of the public. Thus one after anoth
er departments were organized, until now there are
in the body six main divisions or departments, each

with its head, yet all workng under the central
head of the Mosaic Templars. These are the En
dowment Department, The Juvenile Department,
the Temple Department, the Uniform Rank De
partment, the Monument Department, the Arkan
sas Charity Fund, Recapitulation, Analysis, Rec
ommendations. Each Department is a unit in it
self; yet each is a part of the great whole. For
example, though each Department is a memher of
the whole, yet each must be responsible for all
the business coming under its head. If the given
Department runs behind in its accounts, or gets
entangled in its bookkeeping that Department and
not the whole organization, becomes sponsor.
Thus, while all move under a general head, yet
there is ample departmental responsibility to keep
the whole body on the qui vive. Each head of a
Department and each worker in the department
feels a personal responsibility and a personal and
departmental pride in keeping his work to the fore.
For in every instance, if the department fails the
head and all his co-workers also fail.

It therefore turns out that while J. E. Bush
founded a most helpful organization he also estab
lished a body which is a splendid object lesson of
what the Negro can do when working together, a
body which is helpful in promoting the respect of
the white for the black man and in inspiring self-
respect in the black man.

Of equal service perhaps is this order, in that it
furnishes dignified employment to hundreds of our
educated men and women.

When we consider that all these people would be
living on half pay from the school room, or whole
pay from the Pullman or steam boat services, some
adequate notion can be formed as to the real serv
ice of this organization, outside of its direct pur
pose. Every such organization is a great milestone
in a race's progress, and he who establishes such is
building a school and a business at the same time.
For in no other way could our men and women
become accustomed to handling the intricacies of
bookkeeping and the question of high finance.

Finally, The Mosaic Templars have found men.
In its own state it began very early to teach the
people of Arkansas who their great thinkers and
leaders were. Then it reached out its hand into
this, then into that, until in every state of the
south and in many in the north, there are scores
more of solid leaders than would otherwise have
been known. The organization has been left in the
hands largely of the sons of the founder, C. E.
Bush, National Grand Secretary and A. E. Bush,
Secretary-Treasurer. This again follows the line
of a great service, affording a big lesson for the
men of the race. Young Morgan is running his
father's bank; young Hill is carrying forward the
great railroad interests of James J. Hill. And the

105

sons of J. E. Bush are holding and increasing the
heritage left to them and to the Negro people of
America.

The following is an extract from report to the
National Grand Lodge,, meeting at Little Rock,
Ark., July 10-13, 1917, by the National Grand
Scribe ; "From comparative insignificance we have
now forged to the front and have attracted nation
wide attention. We have set a pace in the Frater
nal World that up to this writing has not been
out-distanced. Our growth being steady, having
increased membership about 25 per cent since our
Tuskegee meeting and our assets have increased
approximately more than one hundred thousand
dollars above what they were at Tuskegee.

"The same plan of economy inauguarted at the
birth of the organization has been steadfastly ad
hered to. The main object in view is to properly
safeguard and handle the money that the people in
trust to our keeping. If we have achieved any
success it is due more to this principle than any
other element. Examiners from various insurance i
departments have marveled at the low expense
budget maintained to operate our organization.

"That our Organization is well organized is evi
denced by the minimum amount of friction in the
management. All of our officials and leaders, with
few exceptions, are men and women of level heads
and well balanced minds. The discordant element
is so little encouraged in our Organization that it
soon seeks other quarters of its own volition. A
big business like the Mosiac Templars of America
can only have successful management by having
harmony in all of its working departments. Many
people in dealing with the Mosiac Templars are
very much surprised when they learn that the Na
tional Grand Master's office, the National Grand
Scribe's office, the Attorney General's office, the
Auditor's office, the Monument office all operate
without one interfering with the other. Each de
partment head is held responsible for success in
his or her department. If he fails, then no blame
can be placed upon any other department and the
report must be made to you, the final judges."

The Mosaic Templars stand for the unification
of one common brotherhood, of every man or wo
man with Negro blood coursing through his or her
veins, of good moral character, into a common
brotherhood of helpfulness and usefulness. It be
lieves that whatever agencies or forces that are
conducive to the uplift of the white race will have
a corresponding effect on the Negro.

It stands for a symmetrical development of the
Negro on moral, religious, educational and indus
trial lines. It believes that whatever safeguards
that are thrown around one race to enoble it, and
prepare it for beter citizenship, the same ought
to be extended the Negro.

RICHARD ARNETT WILLIAMS, M. D.

HE unthinking world is too apt to
discredit men of visions, and yet,
without the visionary men this
world would be poor indeed, and
would still be in a chaotic state.
Men must see things before they
can be accomplished and to the credit of the men
of visions, be it said, that they paved the way for
all great achievements. Such a man is Dr. R. A.
Williams.

Dr. Williams was born September 13th, 1879, in
Forest City, Arkansas. Although his parents were
not rich, they possessed sufficient means to enable
them to aid their son to secure an education. They
saw the advantages of a good education and de
termined that they could do no better part for their
children than to do what they could in the devel
opment of their minds. They early placed the
Doctor in the public schools of his native city,
where he graduated at the tender age of twelve.
His appetite for knowledge was whetted by his
course in the public school, and he determined to
pursue his studies further. This he did at the
Danville Industrial High school, of Danville Vir
ginia. After a course at this school he continued
his literary studies in the Arkansas Baptist College,

Little Rock, Arkansas, and graduated from the
Academic Department of this institution, in 1896.
He bears the distinction and honor of being the
first graduate of this department which has since
sent out so many well prepared young men and
women. At an early age, Dr. Williams gave much
thought to the question of his life work, and decid
ed upon the medical profession. This decision re
mained with him through all of his college life, and
all of his preparation looked to this end. It was
in 1898, that he began to see the fruition of his
hope and the consummation of his dream. It was
this year that he matriculated at Meharry Medi
cal College. He finished his course of study in
this well known school and not only won honors
but also the confidence and esteem of his fellow
students. His career as a student was not without
its trials and difficulties and he found it necessary
to engage in business ventures from time to time
in order to raise the money necessary to pay his
way.

At the early age of fourteen he assumed the du
ties of the school master and governed himself, ev
en, at this early age, with the dignity befitting one
in that profession. His next venture was that of
a merchant and under the firm name of Williams
and Brown he conducted for two years a grocery
business. This venture was successful but could
not tempt him to give up the purpose to become a
physician. It enabled him, however, to carry out
his well-formed plan for a medical education.

After graduating at the Meharry College, he
went to Knoxville, Tenn., and commenced his pro
fessional career. Here he remained for three
years and won the confidence of the people, and
established a good practice. He could not re
main satisfied at Knoxville, for the lure of his na
tive state was upon him. He could not turn a
deaf ear to its call, so in 1905, he left Knoxville, and
turned his face toward Arkansas. Helena was the
city of his choice and here he located and here he
has remained, building up for himself a good prac
tice and an enviable reputation. Being a man of
sympathetic nature, he was not slow to put him
self in touch with the needs of his people, and to
interest himself in their behalf. His work as a
physician enabled him to see the great need of
money in times of sickness and when the death an
gel spread its wings over the home and it was this
that gave him this vision of a society that would
supply this need. He put his mind to work and
as a result of his thinking he brought into exis
tence the "Royal Circle of Friends of the World."
To this organization he has given his time and ex
ecutive skill and in its interest he has had to travel
extensively. Seeing in it such great possibilities,
he has given it so much of his time that he has had
to curtail his general practice and confine himself
to an office practice and to a specialty.

106

The Royal Circle of Friends is one of the most
modern organizations calling upon the public for
its support. It bases its claims for support alone
upon merit. It has found favor from the start,
and continues to hold its friends. Its growth is
phenominal and has exceeded the hopes of its foun
der. Its first lodge was organized in 1909 and the
number has increased to about three hundred lod
ges, and about nine thousand members. The lod
ges are scattered over five states, Arkansas, Miss
issippi, Alabama, Kentucky and Oklahoma. The
order has several main features. It has an en
dowment feature by which the beneficiary of a de
ceased member gets Three Hundred Dollars at
his or her death. This endowment is paid prompt
ly within a week after the death of a member and
if the family is in great need it is paid immediately.
Another feature rewards the member for a ten
year connection therewith. It is a one hundred
dollar endowment. It also provides for a sick and
accident benefit. This feature alone, has done in
calculable good. The order is noted for its prompt
ness in settlement of its claims and is multiplying
its strength in the accumulation of a surplus. The
founder recognizes the importance of keeping in
touch with its members and to this end he has es
tablished a paper, known as the Royal Messenger.

Much of the success of the Royal Circle of
Friends is due to the popularity of its founder and
his rare business judgment.

The aim of the founder of the Royal Circle of
Friends was to give to his people the largest bene
fits at the least cost and to insure the prompt pay
ment of all claims. To make it possible for all to
share in its benefits the initiation fee was placed at
Two Dollars and Fifty Cents, and a quarterly en
dowment fee of One Dollar. When the substan
tial benefits derived from this organization are con
sidered its fee's are more reasonable than any oth
er order.

The great majority of the men and women who
come into the organization are young. This
gave the order an advantage. To meet conditions
which will naturally arise as the members grow
older a surplus has been created which is being
added to annually.

Dr. Williams, the founder and President, has the
handling of funds of the order and has already de
monstrated his ability to handle them with consu-
mate business skill. His intregrity is above ques
tion and the members feel safe, so long as the af
fairs of the order remain in his hands. An order
of this character has to get out much printed mat
ter and in keeping with its economical manage
ment a printing press was purchased and by
means of this outfit much money has been saved
the Order in the item of printing alone. Dr. Wil
liams is constantly in receipt of letters commending
the order and acknowledging the good it has done
for the colored race. It has been especially gra-

107

tifying to him to receive so many letters of per
sonal commendation and to know that he is held in
such high personal esteem by his friends. To feel
that you have done something worth while always
brings pleasing reflections but to know that you
have started a movement which will continue long
after you have passed away, to bless the people
whom you love and wish to serve is thrilling in its
contemplation. Such is the joy that has come to
Dr. Williams in establishing the order of the Royal
Circle of Friends. He has lived to see it a success
and to see the great good it has already accomplish
ed. If he should cease from his labors now he has
done enough to hand down his name to posterity
and in a way to brnig only pleasant memories of
him.

He has built his monument which will be more
enduring than granite, or stone, and as long as the
Royal Circle of Friends exists, Dr. Williams will
be held in fond remembrance.

"Fading away like the stars of the morning,
Losing their light in the glorious sun —
Thus would we pass from earth and its toil
ing,
Only remembered by what we have done."

August 25th., 1903 Dr. Williams was married to
Miss Cora E. Morgan of Memphis, Tennessee. She
is a daughter of one of the wealthiest planters of
Shelby County, Tennessee, and is a woman of cul
ture, refinement and great ability.

Mrs. Williams was graduated from the LeMoyne
Institute of Memphis and for several years was
one of the leading teachers in her native county.

A daughter, Vera Louise Williams, makes the
Williams' home one of happiness.

She is a very bright young person and makes
life interesting for the father and mother.

At the time of his marriage Dr. Williams was
a man of small means and only attained to his pres
ent standing in the financial world by the practice
of the strictest economy. He is now housed in his
own home and lives in a style that is befitting
a high class professional man.

Dr. Williams gives much of the credit for their
financial success to his wife. She it was who
helped him to rise in life and who was an in
spiration to him in the dark hours that come to all
who struggle upward.

It is not often that a man accomplishes so much
in so short a period of his life and it must be a
matter of supreme satisfaction to Dr. Williams to
see the seed of his planting blossom into so frag
rant and beautiful a flower, whose aroma of
friendship will bless the coming generations. The
man who confers a benefit upon his race is blessed
in his work for others and the reflex influence upon
his own life brings to him a personal blessing.

A life of service is a successful life and brings its
own sure and blessed reward.

E. O. TRENT.

OR a man to hold the same posi
tion for considerably over a quar
ter of a century, and still keep
thoroughly abreast with the
times, shows a great strength of
character. One of the easiest
things for a man who serves the public to do, is
to get in a rut. Then his days of usefulness are
numbered. But when a man can serve the public
year in and year out, giving something new to each
set of people who come directly under his care,
when a man can do this, he is a success.

For thirty-three years E. O. Trent has served as
principal of the High and Industrial School, at Fort
Smith, Arkansas. During all these years he has
kept his school up to the standard in every particu
lar. His teachers have caught something of his
spirit of service and give freely of their time and
energies during off hours.

Professor Trent was born in Columbus, Ohio,
February 24, 1859. Fortunate for him he was in a
section, where even in those days a boy of color
could have some chance at an education. So from
the age of six to twenty-three he attended school
in his native state. He graduated from the Ger

man High School of Columbus and then entered the
Ohio State University. From this institution he
was graduated in 1882. In seeking for a place
where he could best serve his people in the capacity
of school master, he left his native state and went
to Missouri. Here for one year he taught and then
having received the opening at Fort Smith, Arkan
sas, he gave up his work in Missouri and went to
Arkansas. Here he has remained, teaching in the
school room and out of it both young and old,
some of the lessons from books and many of the
fundamental lessons of life.

Professor Trent did not confine his work to the
town of Fort Smith. He saw the need of a State
Teachers Association for the colored teachers of
Arkansas, and became one of the prime movers in
organizing this body. That through this act alone
Professor Trent has served the entire State of Ar
kansas, can not well be disputed. All the teachers
through this organization have been brought up to
a higher standard of teaching. All of them know
more fully just what they are trying to do for the
boys and girls, who come directly under their care.
In this way has the influence of Professor Trent
been broadened.

In religious affiliation the subject of this sketch
is a stanch Baptist. He is an active member
of the Missionary Baptist Church in Fort Smith.
In this church he has held many responsible posi
tions. He has served as deacon, as clerk, as a lead
er of the young people's organization and as Su
perintendent of the Sunday School. Through the
Sunday School, Professor Trent has been able to
touch the lives of his pupils from the standpoint of
religion, and because of this he has been able to
help develop well rounded young men and women.

In fraternal Orders he is also a man of promi-
.nence. He was for seventeen years Secretary of
the Odd Fellows Benefit Association. He is C. C.
of the Knights of Pythias, he is a member of the
Masonic Order, he is H. H. R., of the Eastern Star,
a member of the Mosiac Templars and of the Roy
al Arch Masons. Through these organizations,
Professor Trent has come more directly in contact
with the men and women of his adopted town. And
so we see that his life has touched the lives of the
people of Fort Smith, from many different points.
In return for all the things he has done for the peo
ple of Fort Smith, they have given him honor in
many particulars. He has held positions of honor
and trust in the churches, fraternal orders and
in the Sociological Congress.

Professor Trent was married to Miss Hattie S.
Smith, August 25, 1886, in Columbus, Ohio. There
are two children in the Trent family. E. E. Trent
is in business for himself in Fort Smith. He is a
very successful merchant. Alphonso Trent is still
a student. He is in the Lincoln High School at
Fort Smith.

During all the years that he has been out working
for himself, Professor Trent has managed to accu
mulate considerable of this worlds goods. He
owns thirty-two rent houses and a truck farm. A
conservative estimate of the value of his holdings
is placed at $50.000.00.

108

BIRD'S EYE VIEW OF ATLANTA UNIVERSITY

TLANTA University is one of the
pioneer institutions for the Chris
tian education of Negro youth.
It possesses excellent equipment
for the work of high school,
normal school and college classes,
and has accommodations for one
hundred and sixty boarding stu
dents. It is the first institution in the State of
Georgia to undertake work of college grade for
Negroes, and steadily emphasizes the importance
of genuine scholarship. It enjoys the cumulative
advantage which results fro mforty-nine years of
continuous effective work. It has been unusually
fortunate in the continuity of its administration.
It was founded in 1865 under the auspices of the
American Missionary Association, by Edmund Asa
Ware. It was presided over by him until his
death, in 1885. President Ware was a graduate
of Yale University of the class of 1863. In 1875
his Yale classmate Horace Bumstead, succeeded
to the presidency and held the position until 1907,
when he resigned, and became the recipient of a
Carnegie penson. His successor is Edward Twichell
Ware, son of the founder and first president, a
graduate of Yale University of the class of 1897.
On the teaching force, there have always been, as
there are now, men and women who have received
the best education that this country affords.
Among the colleges represented by the teachers
are Harvard, Dartmouth, Chicago, Smith, and
Wellesley.

The University is beautifully situated upon the
summit of a hill in the Western part of the City of
Atlanta, and is surrounded by a campus of sixty
acres. There are seven substantial brick buildings,
three of them covered with Boston Ivy. The value
of the property, all told, is $300.000. The invested
funds amount to about $125,000. For the proper
maintenance of the work, about $39,000 is required
each year in addition to the amount reasonably to
be expected from payments of students and income
from funds. For this extra amount the Institution
depends upon the endowment of friends who give
from year to year.

Instruction in domestic science and manual train
ing is required of all the high school students and
there are opportunities for pursuing this work
further in the college course of mechanic arts and

in the Furber Cottage for the normal students.
The normal course comprises two years following
the high school course.

During the Senior year the girls live in the Fur
ber Cottage in groups of fifteen and under the su
pervision of the matron, do all the work of the
home.

The Institution also possesses a well equipped
printing office, from which is issued the catalogue,
the school and alumni papers. Here, there is an
opportunity to learn the art of printing. It is the
purpose of Atlanta University to make the home
life in the school strong and wholesome.

There is probably no school for the Negroes in
the South better equipped with facilities for home
training, for library work, or for the preparation
of teachers. This institution has also been long
prominent for the excellence of its work in sociol
ogy. Its annual publications on the Negro prob
lem have received wide recognition from scholars
and may be found in the best libraries in this coun
try and abroad.

Opportunities for Post Graduate Study leading
to the degree of A. M. are offered to a limited ex
tent ,

There are enrolled over five hundred students.
About two-thirds of them come up the hill every
day from the City of Atlanta. The rest are in the
boarding department and represent sixteen states,
and thirty-nine counties in the State of Georgia.
These young people are many of them children of
the graduates of Atlanta University and most of
them have received their training in schools over
which the graduates preside.

This Institution is an outgrowth of the Christian
spirit which brought so many earnest and devoted
teachers South, in the educational crusade of the
sixties and seventies. The work is essentially
Christian. It is undenominational and strong in
religious motive. Students attend church and
Sunday school. They also have their voluntary
: eligious organizations, the Y. M. C. A., and Y. W.
C A. Participation in the religious exercises and
in the home life of the school has often been in
strumental in molding the character of the student
for the most efficient service among their people.

The chief source of encouragement for the work
rests in the almost uniform success of the grad
uates of Atlanta University.

109

MRS. ROSA LULA BARNES.

N recent years the Negro woman
has begun to find herself. Time
was when both by herself and in
the minds of the general public it
was decided, yea determined, that

her place was in the home, in the

school room and in the Sunday School. Gradually
she got into founding institutions, schools, so
cial settlements and the like. She went on the lec
ture platform. She traveled in America and in Eu
rope as a singer. In all these places she found her
self a complete success.

Then a few ventured into unheard of fields — into
politics and in business. Again success is crowning
their endeavors. Why should they not enter any
and all branches of work?

One of the leading Negro women in business, in
^odge, and general social work is Mrs. Lula Barnes
of Savannah, Georgia. Though an Alabamian by
birth and education Mrs. Barnes is a Georgian by
adoption and achievement. She was born in Hunts-
ville, Alabama, near the scene of the labors of the
late Dr. Council. Born August 22nd, 1868, she had
many difficulties in getting an early education.
However, Huntsville Normal and Industrial Insti

tute was near at hand; and so after several years
she entered here and gained her life training.

Soon after her school days she was married and
set about to make a happy home and to aid her
husband in every possible way. Providence deem
ed it otherwise. Spurred by adversity, she now be
gan to cast about for a livelihood. Living in Sa
vannah, she thought she saw an opening for a Ne
gro grocery. She thought also that a Negro wo
man should just as well conduct this business as
could a man. Hence she launched forth into the
business. She opened a store on Price Street, and
by courtesy, fair dealing and shrewd business tact
made her store one to be reckoned with in the
business world. For ten years she was a grocer,
and gave up, or sold out, only to enter other fields.

The grocery business proving very confining, and
an opportunity opening for her services in lodge
work, she closed her grocery books in 1893, and ac
cepted work with the Court of Calanthe. She be
came Grand Worthy Counsellor of the Court of
Calanthe and of the Knights of Pythias. The post
with the latter she still hollds.

During her ten years in business Mrs. Barnes
had practiced economy. She now made several
paying investments. She bought a handsome resi
dence, which is her home, on East Henry Street.
She bought twelve rent houses, which in them
selves provide her with a pretty comfortable in
come. She owns five vacant lots in Savannah.

Having made these investments, which were safe
and which would protect her in case of inability,
she felt safe in placing money in several worthy
enterprises. She owns stock and is a director in
the Wage Earner's Bank of Savannah, in the
Standard Life Insurance Company, in the Afro-
American Company and in the Union Development
Company.

Mrs. Barnes now gives her life very largely to
service in lodges and in the church. She is a mem
ber of the A. M. E. Church, of the Court of Calan
the, of the Household of Ruth, of the Eastern Star,
of the Good Samaritan. She has been honored
with the post of Grand Worthy Chancellor of the
Court of Calanthe of Georgia ; Supreme Worthy
Inspector of the National Court of Calanthe ; Past
District Most Noble Governor of Georgia : Past
Grand Worthy Superior of the Household of Ruth ;
and Past Grand Matron of the Eastern Star.

With these honorary positions, with the duties
and responsibilities entailed, Mrs. Barnes has
traveled in all parts of the United States. There
are few people and places in the country, about
which she cannot give a very intimate account.

Mrs. Barnes was married to Mr. Richard Barnes
at Savannah, Aug. 16th, 1884. Mr. Barnes died in
Sept. 2nd, 1911. Left alone Mrs. Barnes has de
voted her life to making bright the every day lives
of others.

110

HENRY RUTHERFORD BUTLER, M. D.

NE of the conspicuous figures in
colored Georgia during this last
quarter century has been Dr. H.
R. Butler. He has been the ex
ponent in business enterprises and
in uplift work and has been :>. sort
of sponsor for the good name of Atlanta to the
world. To him, being a physician is but an item
in his career. He is a strong church man, being a
member of the African Methodist Episcopal Church
and a steward in the Bethel Church of Atlanta.

In membership and activity in secret orders as
well as in national bodies, few men anywhere are
his peers. He is a thirty-third degree Mason. More
than this he is the Grand Master of the Maso*is of
Georgia, a post he has held for fifteen years. Hi; is
also a Royal Arch Mason and Past Eminent Grand
Commander of Georgia. He is an Odd Fellow, a
Knight of Pythias, being a Brigadier General of
the Uniform Department and Supreme representa
tive of this body. He is a member of the Eastern
Star and Court of Calanthe. He belongs to the
Red Cross Society and to the National Georgraph-
ical Society. He was surgeon, with rank of first
lieutenant in the Second Battalion of Georgia Vol

unteers until that battalion was mustered out in
1896.

He organized the colored Medical Association of
Georgia in 1891 and was its first president. He was
for four years, physician to Spelman Seminary, the
largest school in the world for Negro girls. He
was one of the organizers of the Atlanta State Sav
ings Bank and is now one of its directors. He was
the first regular Negro contributor to the Atlanta
Constitution. He is manager of the Fair Haven In
firmary of the M. B. U.

Amazing as all this work may appear, it becomes
more so when it is known that Dr. Butler gained
his education by the hardest of struggle. He was
born in the country in a log cabin, in Cumberland
County, North Carolina, April 11, 1861. The spot of
his birth place is some four miles from Fayette-
ville, on the Willington Road. The first few years
of his life, he worked on the farm as a laborer.
Then he moved to Wilmington and became a wharf
hand, then a stevedore. From here he went into
the lumber yard as a workman, thence to the Wil
mington Compress Company, for whom he finally
became a cotton buyer.

All this time he was carrying a burning desire to
be educated, to become a man and hold positions
of trust and responsibility. To be sure he had but
little to book on or build on. Back there in Cum
berland he had enjoyed three months schooling in
a log cabin school house. His parents could give
him no more. To pay his way he worked as bell
boy, waiter, side waiter and finally head waiter in
the Northern Hotels. His mother sent him one
green back dollar, while he was in school. The
rest, for both his elementary, college and profes
sional education, he raised himself.

Completing his course in the study of medicine,
Dr. Butler went to Atlanta in 1890 and began to
practice medicine and to become a part of the life
in Atlanta and in Georgia. In his profession he
ranks foremost and enjoys a very wide practice in
Atlanta and surroundings. In company with Dr.
T. H. Slater, he was owner of the flourishing Drug
Store under the name of Butler, Slater and Com
pany. Dr. Butler is one of the leading property
owners in Atlanta. He owns a very handsome
home, owns other property in Atlanta, in Southern
Georgia, and in Lincoln, property and buildings
which amount in value to twenty-five thousand
dollars.

Dr. Butler was married May 2nd, 1893, to Miss
Selana May Sloan. They have one son, Henry
Rutherford, Junior, who is at present a student in
Atlanta University, but who is to attend and be
graduated from the Harvard Divinity School in
Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The Butler family of three has traveled much.
Dr. Butler himself has crossed the American Con
tinent, indeed is a registered physician in Califor
nia, and in Los Angeles. He and his family have
traveled through Canada and Europe, where he
spent much time in study in the hospitals of London
and Paris.

Ill

BISHOP RANDALL ALBERT CARTER
A. B., A. M., D. D.

ISHOP Randall A. Carter of the C.
M. E. Church, in his early years,
planned to enter the law, but
thanks to an early conversion and
a deep interest in religious mat
ters growing out of this, he
changed his plans, and became a minister instead.
Bishop Carter was born in Fort Valley, Georgia,
January 1, 1867; but while still a small child he
moved with his parents to Columbia, South Caro
lina. Here in Columbia he attended the public
schools, applying himself to all the tasks that were
set for him. He completed the common schools of
his home and was ready for higher training, at the
time of the founding of the Allen University, in
Columbia, S. C. So, instead of going away to col
lege he was fortunate enough to have the college
come to him. Bishop Carter was among the first
students to matriculate in the University. He re
mained in Allen University long enough to com
plete the Freshman Class.

While studying in this school he was converted
during a great revival. It was not long after this
that he felt a call to the ministry and so he joined
the South Carolina Conference of the C. M. E.

Church. Bishop Wm. H. Willis, of Louisville, Ken
tucky, was the presiding officer at the Conference
at the time Bishop Carter joined.

Bishop Carter, as a minister, served many im
portant charges both in South Carolina, and in
Georgia. While working in Georgia, Bishop Car
ter completed his full college course at Payne Col
lege. He graduated with the degree of A. B., with
the highest honors. For a number of years the
subject of this sketch served as presiding Elder in
the Georgia Conference. He was the confidential
advisor of Bishop Holsey for many years and was
the recognized leader of the Georgia Conference,
of the C. M. E. Church. He was elected chairman
of the delegation from his conference to the gen
eral conference for twenty years in succession. He
was the first Epworth League Secretary of that
department of his church. He was the fraternal
delegate from his church to the general conference
of the M. E. Church, held in Chicago, Illinois. He
was a member of the delegation from his church
to the Ecumenical Conference of Methodism, heM
in London, England. While abroad, Bishop Carter
took advantage of the opportunity and visited
many of the countries of Europe.

In 1914 in St. Louis, Mo., he was elected a Bishop
of his church. At this time Bishop Carter received
the highest vote ever given any aspirant for that
position. Thus Bishop Carter has come from the
ranks to the highest position in the gift of his
church. Starting as a school teacher, who wanted
to be a preacher, joining the conference and serv
ing first small and then larger charges, he has
developed wonderfully in this time. In recognition
of his growth and development he was given the
degree of A. M. in 1900 and of D. D. in 1901. Both
of these came from his Alma Mater.

Bishop Carter is recognized as one of the fore
most orators and most scholarly preachers in his
church. He is a member of the National Geogra
phic Society, the National Association for the Ad
vancement of the Colored People. A member of
the committee on Church and Country Life of the
Federal Council of Churches, and a member of the
Association for the Study of Negro Life and His
tory. Bishop Carter has held and served in many
other positions which are honorary and which work
for the public good. Among those in which he
is still actively engaged we might mention that he
is President of the Board of Missions of the C. M.
V.. Church, President of the Board of Trustees, of
the Texas College of Hagood, Arkansas, and of the
Indiana College, of Pine Bluff, Arkansas.

Bishop Carter has traveled extensively in this
country and abroad. He has covered this country
from the Atlantic to the Pacific. He owns pro
perty, in the District of Columbia, in Columbia,
South Carolina, and in Atlanta, Georgia.

In 1891, on the 22nd of April, Bishop Carter was
married to Miss Janie S. Hooks, of Macon, Georgia.
There is one child in the family, Miss Carrie Car
ter, who is a freshman in Atlanta University.

Born of poor parents, we might say born in real
poverty, Randall Albert Carter has made a good
record for himself during his half century. His
is a life that will lend inspiration.

112

SILAS X. FLOYD, A. M., D. D.

D

ILAS X. Floyd was born Octo
ber 2nd, 1869, in the City of Au
gusta, Georgia, and here he has
lived tor the greater part of his
• life. During his childhood period
it was hard tor a colored youth to
secure a thorough education, but Dr. Floyd was an
exception. He secured a good education but
through close application to his studies and a de
termination to succeed. When a lad he attended
the schools of his native city and then entered At
lanta University. He graduated at this institution
in 1891, and in 1894 received his M. A. degree from
his Alma Mater. Finishing his course he returned
to Augusta, Georgia, where he immediately began
and has continued a marvelously active life. An
enumeration of his activities seems almost in
credible that one man could accomplish so much
and retain his health and strength. But Dr. Floyd
is an unusual man. Dr. Floyd is first a preacher
and from 1899 to 1900 he was the Pastor of the
Augusta Tabernacle Baptist Church. Prior to
this, from 1891 to 1896, he was principal of the
Public School and editor of the Augusta Sentinel.
From 1896 to 1899 he was field representative of
the International Sunday School Association, and

113

from 1900 to February, 1903, he was field worker
for Georgia and Alabama for the American Bap
tist Publication Society. Since that time he has
served continuously as Principal of the Public
School of his native city.

Dr. Floyd has many gifts but the two which are
preeminent are those of teacher and author. By
means of these he has left an impress upon the
colored citizens of Augusta, and in fact the entire
country, which will tell for the good of the race
for ages to come.

For many years he has conducted every Sunday
morning a colored people's page in each of the two
white daily newspapers published in Augusta. He
has also held the unique position of being a paid
reporter on two Southern white papers in the same
city. This has given him a great local power to
help his people. But Dr. Floyd has not confined his
work to the school room, nor to the pen. His great
heart embraces the whole colored race and he is
interested in all efforts for their uplift. To this
end he has served as Secretary of the National As
sociation of Teachers in Colored schools ; he was
the President of the first Negro State Press Asso
ciation, in the United States, for Colored Newspa
pers ; he was the originator of a system of syndica
ting the news among colored newspapers ; he is a
member of the Walker Baptist Institute, Augusta ;
he is a member of the American Historical Asso
ciation, and a member of the American Social
Science Association. In these various organiza
tions he has come face to face with many of the
problems of the race and has done his share towards
the adjustment of them.

Dr. Floyd's writings have been voluminous and
have been extensively read. He has made contri
butions to such well known periodicals as the New
York Independent. Youth's Companion, Lippin-
cctts, Judge, and Leslie's Weekly. He is the au
thor of "Floyd's Flowers," a booko of stories for
colored children, the first book of its kind ever
published in the history of the race in the United
States. He has also written the "life of C. T. Wal-^
ker," the "Gospel of Service and other Sermons,"
and a number of stories and verses which have ap
peared from time to time in the leading papers and
magazines of the country.

Dr. Floyd has made his contribution to the civic
life of Augusta, and has rendered valuable service
to the commonwealth on many occasions. In re
cognition of his invaluable aid in relief work, fol
lowing the great fire which swept Augusta, the
Chairman of the White Relief Committee publicly
presented him with a beautiful gold watch and fob.
During the war which has happily come to a close,
Dr. Floyd was conspicious for his patriotic service
and was placed at the head of many of the commit
tees which this service called into existence.

Space alone prevents further record of his ach
ievements. A fitting end is to speak of his happy
home life. His family consists of a wife, (for
merly Mrs. Ella Jam'es,) and a daughter, Miss
Marietta James, who are in perfect accord and
sympathy with him and in their own home they
present the ideal family circle.

BENJAMIN JEFFERSON DAVIS.

Benjamin Jefferson Davis

R. Benjamin Jefferson Davis, the
subject of this sketch, was born
in Dawson, Georgia, in 1870. He
passed his childhood under the
usual disadvantages of the Negro
child in those days. He was
born with an insatiable thirst for knowledge, and
with an ambition and will to do whatever his hands
found to do better than anybody else could do it.
His longing to render service for his race and man
kind ripened, and accordingly he resolved to acquire
an education that would fit him for life's work ; and
he entered Atlanta University and availed himself
of every opportunity to better his condition. As
a student he was brilliant and showed unmistaka
bly the elements of leadership, which has made him
a leader of men. As success marked his efforts, he
never forgot to appreciate the friends who encour
aged and helped him to prepare himself for the
task which he had mapped out.

After spending several terms in Atlanta Univer
sity, he decided to teach school to aid him in his
preparation and to secure the amount of money
necessary to carry out what he had undertaken and
planned for the future. Meanwhile, he was ten
dered a government position which he accepted ;
but it was not long before he felt that he could bet
ter serve his race and generation by giving up the
government service and taking up work more in
keeping with his Life's ambition. But he had the
foresight to see that there were great possibilities
for racial development in the G. U. O. O. F., in
America. He joined the Order at seventeen. His
mother, Mrs. Katherine Davis, who was very much
devoted to her boy, partly kept up his dues during
the time he was attending school. He rose rapidly
in the Order and became a Past officer in 1891, and
a member of the District Grand Lodge in 1892;
he was elected District Grand Treasurer in 1900;
was elected Grand Director of the National Branch
of the Order, in Columbus, Ohio, in 1904, and serv
ed two years. He was elected Grand Treasurer of
the National Branch in 1906 at Richmond, Va.,
which position he filled four years. He was elected
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Order in
Baltimore in 1910, and served four year. In 1917,
at the Macon District Grand Lodge, he was again
re-elected District Grand Secretary for the Eighth
Biennial term, making sixteen years ; and he was
elected General Manager of the Corporation of the
G. U. O. O. F. of America, Jurisdiction of Geor
gia. In 1916, when the Order was placed in the
hands of a Receiver by the courts, he, on account
of his signal ability, and intricate knowledge of the

affairs of the Order was appointed by the court as
Assistant Receiver.

He is a member of the K. of P., Supreme Circle,
Knights of Tabor, a Director of the Standard Life
Insurance Company, Stockholder of the Atlanta
State Savings Bank and President of the Atlanta
Independent Publishing Company — publishers of
the Atlanta Independent.

In politics, he is a Republican, and is usually one
of the Big Four Delegates from the State-at-large
to the Republican National Convention every four
years. At the 19th Republican National Conven
tion he was a member of the Committee on Plat
form and Resolutions of which Senator Henry Ca
bot Lodge of Massachusetts, was the Chairman.

The strongest institution in which Mr. Davis is
interested, and the one which wields a world of
good for both races, is the Atlanta Independent. As
owner and editor of this widely read and circulated
journal, he shapes ks policy and is considered one
of the ablest journalists and writers of his day.

It is impossible to discuss the Negro progress in
America without mentioning "Ben Davis" and the
Odd Fellows Block in Atlanta, which stands as a
monument to his vision, perseverance and organ
izing genius. He is essentially an organizer and
leader of men. Twenty years ago when he be
came officially identified with the G. U. O. O. F.
in Georgia, it represented a membership of less
than 10,000 and as a state organization, it was
struggling and gasping for breath, so to speak. To
day the membership is more than fifty thousand,
including the Household of Ruth, Juveniles, Divis
ion Meeting and Deputy and Supervisor's Institute.

When Mr. Davis took charge of the office of
District Grand Secretary, he addressed himself to
the task of re-constructing the Order and placing
it upon a substantial basis. His first efforts were
to systematize the business of the office and build
up confidence in the Order in the minds of the
people. This having been accomplished, he felt
that the time was propitious to have a strong or
gan in the State of Georgia with which to give
publicity to the work and the benefit of the Or
der, and widen the circle of the Race's influence.
Out of this idea sprang the Atlanta Independent,
which, from the beginning, was a popular and fear
less sheet and exerted a powerful influence for
good not only in Georgia, but throughout the coun
try — and today the Independent is the most wide
ly read Negro paper in America and is read by
white and black people alike.

In his struggles for the erection of the present
Odd Fellow Block on Auburn Avenue in the City
of Atlanta in the year 1912, the story will never be

115

known in its entirety ; for only God and Mr. Davis
alone know in the broadest sense the fiery ordeals
through which he passed. Even those who were
most intimately associated with him do not know
as he did, for in many respects, "He trod the wine
press alone." Mr. Davis conceived the idea in the
erection of the Odd Fellow Block that every mem
ber of the Order in Georgia give $1.00 as a Free-
Will offering on Thanksgiving Day, May 14, 1911.
As a result of this idea over $50,000 was raised in
one day. The Block was completed at a cost of
more than $300,000 without a dollar of incum-
brance upon it.

When you think of Benjamin Jefferson Davis,
you think of three things — The Atlanta Indepen
dent, The growth of the Odd Fellows and the Odd
Fellows' Block in Atlanta, Ga. The paper speaks
for itself — it is the most aggressive and influen
tial paper published in the country for Negro peo
ple. No paper is more eagerly sought-for and
more widely read than the Atlanta Independent. Of
his work among the Odd Fellows, his chief distinc
tion arises from putting the organization on a
business basis and extending the membership in a
little more than ten years in the State of Georgia,
from 10,000 to 50,000; from a depleted treasury to
an accumulated wealth of $600,000, carrying a cash
balance of $50,000.

But, perhaps, his crowning achievement in con
nection with his great work with the G. U. O. O. F.,
is the establishment of the Bureau of Endowment
for widows and orphans, who, until this time had
been left destitute at the death of their husbands
and fathers. He, therefore, put through an amend
ment whereby every member must carry a death
benefit of not less than $200.00 and not more than
$500.00. The effect of this act has been far-reach
ing and has laid a broad foundation upon which the
Race can build for all time to come. It has been
the forerunner for many other institutions of the
Race — such as banks, insurance companies, first-
class professional offices and hundreds of business
places for young men and women of the Race.

He was happily married August, 1898, to Miss
Jimme W. Porter of Dawson, Ga., and their home
has been blessed with two children — a boy, B. J.
Davis, Jr., and a girl, Johnnie Katherine.

Mr. Davis is less than fifty years old and is in
the very prime of his intellectual and physical pow
ers. He is ambitious, gifted and determined. He
knows no such thing as "can't" and never ceases
until the thing undertaken is put "Over the top."
It is not too much to say that he is one of the
Race's greatest leaders. He is today the greatest
exponent of the principles of Odd Fellowship in
America. He is a National character and a born
leader.
The race's greatest constructive and economic

contribution to the national growth is Odd Fellow
Block, 200 Auburn Ave., between Bell and Butler
Streets, Atlanta, Georgia.

Odd Fellow Block, which consists of two large
buildings, is the largest and the most up-to-date of
fice building owned by the Race in America. These
vast properties were erected in 1912 and 1913 by
District Grand Lodge No. 18, G. U. O. O. F., of Am
erica, Jurisdiction of Georgia, a corporation. The
corporation consists of fifty thousand male and fe
male members of G. U. O. O. F., of America, Jur
isdiction of Georgia. The main building is known
as Odd Fellow Building and is located on the
northeast corner of Auburn Avenue and Bell
Street, and is seven stories high above the ground.
The building consists of six stores, fifty-six offices,
three lodge rooms and the roof garden. The roof
garden will seat and accommodate one thousand
people. It is the largest and the most modern roof
garden in the country, adapted to use all seasons
of the year — sanitary, ventilated and heated by the
most modern systems. The lodge rooms are oc
cupied by many of the different secret Orders in
the city. The offices are used by such substantial
concerns as the Standard Life Insurance Company,
Atlanta Mutual Insurance Company, Chatham Mu
tual Insurance Company, Atlanta State Savings
Bank, District Grand Lodge No. 18, G. U. O. O. F.,
of America, Jurisdiction of Georgia, The N. C. Mu
tual & Provident Association and the Masonic Re
lief Association. The main building fronts Auburn
Avenue 60 feet, and runs north on Bell Street one
hundred feet.

The Odd Fellow Auditorium and Office Build
ing is situated on the corner of Auburn Avenue
and Butler Street, facing Auburn Avenue 138
feet front, and consists of eight stores, eighteen
offices and the Odd Fellow Auditorium Theatre.
The building is two stories high, and the offices
on the second floor are occupied almost entirely by
the leading colored physicians of the city. The
stores are always rented ; the Gate City Drug Store
occupies the corner. This great property of the
Order was erected at a cost to the Corporation, in
cluding the land, quite $400,000 and is today valued
at a half million dollars. The Order contributes to
the State of Georgia and the City of Atlanta $5,000
in taxes each year on its holdings.

More than two hundred and fifty young men and
women are engaged in the various enterprises, do
ing business in the Odd Fellow Block. This invest
ment is a paying proposition, netting to the Or
der — above operating expenses — each year $10,000
which is credited to the Endowment Fund, guar
anteeing the payment of the Death Benefit Certifi
cates held by the members of the Order throughout
the Jurisdiction. This, the greatest contribution of
the Race to the National growth, argues most
largely its possibilities and is due entirely to the
leadership of the District Grand Secretary, Benja
min Jefferson Davis, and stands as a monument to
hi.-; energy, push and pluck.

116

ODD FELLOWS BLOCK, MAI M BUILDING, ATLANTA, GA.

CHARLES HENRY DOUGLASS.

N Macon, Georgia, there is an up-
to date negro theatre, one of the
few negro theatres of any kind to
be owned and managed by a Ne
gro. It was built in 1911, with
modern appliances. It has a seat
ing capacity of 330 and is sanitary throughout.
It has both oscilating and exhaust fans to keep
the air within pure and the building sanitary.
This enterprise is the work of Charles Henry
Douglass, who in this way has made provision
for the recreation and pleasure of his people. Here
every afternoon and evening the tired housewife,
servant or laborer can drop in and enjoy a pleas
ant hour without embarrassment or discrimina
tion. Seeing an opportunity for a Negro amuse
ment house in Macon, he leased in 1904, the Oc-
mulgee Park Theatre, which he operated for two
years, when he sold his lease and purchased a lot
on Broadway and erected the Colonial Hotel, a
three story brick building, which stands on this
business thoroughfare in the midst of the big bus
iness of the city. The building cost eighteen
thousand dollars ($18,000), and is the only piece
of property on Broadway to be owned by a Ne-

118

gro. While operating his hotel, Mr. Douglass or
ganized a theatrical company of about thirty-five
of forty colored people and traveled with his com
pany through fourteen states, giving performances
in many cities, winning favorable patronage which
established his reputation and earned him much
money. Selling out his interest in the Theatrical
Company he added the proceeds to other funds and
erected the "Douglas Theatre." This theatre he
operates entirely with Negro help. He has the
only Negro picture operator permitted to operate
a machine in the State of Georgia. In contemplat
ing a successful man it is interesting to note the
steps by which he climbed the ladder of success.
We will go back now and trace the history of Mr.
Douglass from his childhood days.

Mr. Douglass was born in Macon, Georgia, in
1870 and reared in comparative poverty, his parents
being very poor. Necessity laid upon him the bur
den of money making from early life, in fact from
the time that he could earn a penny. His first job
was to peddle light wood and vegetables. To this
work he devoted his mornings but attended the
public school in the afternoon. He chopped cotton
when he was so small that he had to saw off the
hoe handle so that he might wield the hoe. When
fourteen years of age he left the cotton patch and
went to the city. Here he secured a position as
buggy boy for a physician, and received as wages,
Six Dollars, ($6.00) per month.

This position he held until the death of his fa
ther. When his father died the support of his
mother and two sisters fell upon his shoulders.
Without flinching he assumed the responsibility
and set himself to the task.

He realized that he could not meet the demands
of the family upon the small wages that he was
receiving, so he gave up his position of buggy boy
and sought employment in other lines. He se
cured work as a day laborer, finding employment
in a saw mill, where he received seventy-seven
(77) cents per day. Here he labored until he
found an opening where the wages were larger.
From the saw mill he returned to Macon, where
he entered a box factory, earning wages of from
$1.75 to $2.00 per day. It cost him five dollars to
get this job.

While working as a laborer with his hands his
mind was working upon a plan to start a business
of his own, and to this end he began to save his
money. When he had saved twenty-four dollars
($24), he was ready for his venture. With this
small capital he opened a bicycle repair shop, which
continued to grow until the auto made its appear
ance. This was the beginning of his business ca
reer, but very far from being its end.

When the automobile bid for popular favor the

COLONIAL HOTEL AND DOUGLASS THEATRE

bicycle had to take a back seat so he took time by
the forelock and disposed of his repair shop and
entered another line of endeavor.

He next entered the Real Estate business which
he conducted with marked success.

Ne never shirked the responsibility which his
father's death placed upon him, but cared for his
mother and sisters with devotion and loyalty which
made their paths smooth and pleasant.

When his mother died he remained the devoted
brother and supported and looked after the inter
ests of his two sisters until they married and made
homes for themselves. He not only supported
them but gave them the advantages of education
which contributed to their pleasure and usefulness
in life.

When he worked at the saw mill he often saw
the porters and waiters in the Pullman car ser
vice and was -deeply impressed at the smug and
satisfied air they exhibited, and the spirit of con
tentment that seemed to possess them. He also
noted that they were well dressed. Thus uncon
sciously they inspired in him the desire to have
good clothes and to enjoy their seemingly spirit
of contentment.

This desire he has realized far beyond his fond
est hopes and aspirations. With him to desire is
the determination to attain and determination and
energy usually brought -him the coveted reward.

His personal appearance while not gaudy was
always attractive and he is what may be termed a
well dressed man. Mr. Douglass has always de
pended upon himself and all his moves originated
with himself and he paid for any and all assistance
he received. He never put himself in the attitude
of a beggar. When he secured the position in the
box factory he paid one of the laborers therein to
recommend him and he has followed that policy

through all his business career. He attributes his
success in a large measure to this principle.

Another element in his character which helped
in his successful career was his power to discern
a need and the grit to venture. If he saw a need it
was to him an opportunity and opportunity found
in him a willing follower.

Air. Douglass has acquired considerable proper
ty. In addition to his hotel and theatre he owns
thirty tenement houses, which contain from three
to eight rooms, two pressed brick stores with flats
in second story ; these are in the Broadway block
and the flats rent for $140 per month. He has a
thirty acre farm just outside of Macon where he
raises Duroc and Berkshire hogs , truck, fruit and
game chickens.

Mr. Douglass was married in 1902 to Miss Fan
nie Appling of Macon, Georgia. Six children make
up the Douglass family, Winna, Marsenia, Charles
Henry, Jr., Peter, Carro and Lilly. His close atten
tion to business matters did not lessen his interest
in his family life and he endeavored to make his
home attractive and comfortable. Recently he
built an attractive bungalow for his family. Here
he finds his greatest relaxation from business cares.
It is not surprising that a man who was such a
good son and brother should make an ideal hus
band and father. The importance he felt for the
education of his sisters, which he accomplished,
under the stress of poverty, he now feels for his
children and being in a financial condition to give
them a good education he plans to fit them for use
ful and honorable positions in life. He is a living
illustration of what a man with a vision and a
strong will can do in brushing aside difficulties to
reach his goal.

RESIDENCE OF C. H. DOUGLASS.

119

IUSHOP JOSEPH SIMEON FLIPPER, D. D., LL. D.

Bishop Joseph Simeon Flipper

OR nearly forty years Bishop Jo
seph Simeon Flipper, of the A. M.
E. Church, has been a leader in
the South ; a leader in education,
in religion, and in organizations
ot uplift for the American Negro.
Born Feb. 22, 1859, in the days
of slavery, and educated amidst
the confusion of reconstruction, he has risen from
school teacher to pastor, from pastor to dean, then
college president, and finally to Bishop.

In 1867, when the Northern Missionaries came
South, he attended school in Bethel A. M. E.
Church. From here he went to the Storrs School
on Houston street. In October, 1869, he enrolled
among the first students to enter the Atlanta Uni
versity, where he remained until 1876. In the sum
mer of this year he began teaching school at
Thomaston, Georgia. He was converted in March
1877, and joined St. Thomas, A. M. E. Church. In
1877 and 1878 he taught school in Thomas County
In 1879 he was commissioned by his Excellency,
Governor Alford H. Colquitt, Captain of the Thom-
asville Independants, a colored company forming
a part of the State Militia. In the same year he
taught school at Groverville, now Key, Brooks
County, Georgia. Here he was licensed both as
an exhorter and local preacher, and recommended
by the local church for admission into the Georgia
Annual Conference of the African Methodist Epis
copal Church. In January, 1880, he was received
into the itinerant ministry of the Georgia Confer
ence at Americus, Georgia, by Bishop J. P. Camp
bell, and assigned to the Groverville Circuit. He
was ordained Deacon in January, 1882, in St. Tho
mas A. .M E. Church, Thomasville, the same
church in which he was converted and which he
joined in 1877. Here he was elected Secretary of
the Georgia Conference, and a Trustee of Morris
Brown College. He was appointed to Darien,
Georgia, in 1882. The next year he taught school
at Cairo and Whigham, Georgia. In 1884, he was
ordained Elder at Valdosta, and appointed to Quit-
man. Remaining here until January, 1886, he was
transferred from the Georgia Conference to the
North Georgia Conference, and appointed to Be
thel A. M. E. Church, on Wheat Street, Atlanta.
This was the largest church in the State and he
was the youngest man that had ever been appoint
ed to such an important charge in the State. His
mother had been a member of this church, he had
attended its Sunday School when a boy, and had
first learned his alphabet here. He remained here
four years, the full limit of the law, and raised
more Dollar Money than had ever been raised, not
only in the history of this church, but of the entire
State. It was here in 1886, he became one of the
Dollar Money Kings of the entire connection, for
which he was honored with a gold badge, making
a record which stood for a quarter of a century be
fore any other pastor exceeded it. From Bethel he
was appointed pastor of Pierce Chapel A. M. E.
Church, Athens.

In 1891, he was elected delegate to the Gen
eral Conference which met in Philadelphia ,Pa.,
in May, 1892. It was in this same year that he

121

was appointed by Bishop A. Grant, Presiding El
der of the Athens district. Two years later Allen
University, Columbia, S. C. conferred upon him the
title of Doctor of Divinity. Remaining in the Ath
ens District three years, he was appointed pastor
of Allen Temple, Atlanta. This was in 1895, the
same year he was elected delegate to the General
Conference, which met in Wilmington, N. C., May
1896. In 1899 he was elected leader of the delega
tion of the North Georgia Conference, to the Gen
eral Conference which met in Columbus, Ohio, May
1900. It was at this conference that he was elec
ted Chairman of the Episcopal Committee, the
most important committee of the General Confer
ence. At this General Conference, also, he was
appointed a member of the Financial Board, which
has the oversight of all money raised by the church.
In 1899 he was appointed pastor of St. Paul, A. M.
E. Church, Atlanta, serving four years. In 1903
he was elected by the Trustee Board of Morris
Brown College, Dean of the Theological Depart
ment, where he served one year. The year, 1903.
saw him elected leader of the delegation of the At
lanta, Georgia Conference to the General Confer
ence, which met at Chicago, 111., May 1904. Here
again he was elected Chairman of the Episcopal
Committee, which committee for his faithful ser
vice, presented him with a large silver loving cup.
He was again appointed a member of the Financial
Board. Upon his return home he was elected by
the Trustee Board, President of Morris Brown Col
lege, and enrolled the largest number of students
in the school's history. This position he held for
four years. In 1906, Wilberforce University, Ohio,
conferred on him the title of Doctor of Laws.

In 1908, at the General Conference held in Nor
folk, Virginia, he was elected one of the Bishops
of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and
assigned to the Ninth Episcopal District, consisting
of Arkansas and Oklahoma. In 1912, when the
General Conference met in Kansas City, Missouri,
the delegation from Georgia, his native state, re
quested that he be sent to preside over Georgia,
which request was granted. On coming to Geor
gia, he erected the Flipper Hall, the boys dormitory
at Morris Brown College, the Central Normal and
Industrial Institute, at Savannah, bought ten acres
of land for Payne College, at Cuthbert, Georgia,
and united all the schools into one system, known
as Morris Brown University.

Bishop Flipper owns his home and three rent
houses, in Atlanta, two vacant lots in Waycross,
five in Savannah, and one in Lincoln, Md. He is a
stockholder of the Standard Life Insurance Com
pany. He is a stockholder and Director of the
Atlanta State Savings Bank, and a stockholder
in the Independant, of New York City. He is
a member of the Southern Sociological Congress ;
of the National Geographic Society, Washington,
D. C., a Trustee of the World's Christian Endeavor
— president of the Sunday School Union Board of
the A. M. E. Church.

Bishop Flipper was married in Thomasville, Geor
gia, in 1880, to Miss Amanda Isabella Slater. There
are three children in the Flipper family: Josephine
G., Nathan and Carl.

WILLIAM ALFRED FOUNTAIN, A. B , M. A..
S. T. B., B. D., Ph. D.

R. William A. Fountain, now Pres
ident of Morris Brown Univer
sity, is the son of Reverend Rich
ard and Virginia Fountain, both
of whom were devoted members
of the African Methodist Episco
pal Church.

He was born October 29, 1870, at Elberton, Geor
gia, and was one of seventeen children. He en
tered school at the age of six and attended about
sixteen years. Passing through the public school
at Elberton, he graduated successively from Morris
Brown University, Allen University, Turner Theo
logical Seminary, and took a post-graduate course
at Chicago University, and non-resident courses in
Central University. He has the following degrees :
Bachelor of Arts, from Morris Brown University,
in 1901 ; Master of Arts from Allen University ; S.
T. B., from Turner Seminary; B. D. and Ph. D.,
from Central University. He was also a student
at Garrett Biblical Institute, Evanston, 111., in 1916.
He was converted April 1888, at the age of eigh
teen and joined Allen Temple A. M. E. Church, At
lanta, Georgia, the same year. He became very

active in the church work and has held almost ev
ery office in the body.

He was licensed to preach at Elberton, Georgia,
in 1893, by Rev. (now Bishop,) J. S. Flipper. He
joined the annual conference at Marietta, Georgia,
under Bishop Grant; was ordained deacon at Ath
ens, Georgia, by Bishop A. Grant; ordained elder
at Cedartown, Georgia, by Bishop Turner. He has
held the following appointments: Pendergrass
Mission; Athens-Bethel; Washington-Jackson Cha
pel and Pope's Chapel, Marietta, Georgia; Turner
Chapel, Atlanta, Georgia; Allen Temple, Wilming
ton, North Carolina ; St. Stephens, Macon Georgia ;
Steward Chapel; Presiding Elder of Athens dis
trict. Each change carried him to an enlarged
field of work.

His accomplishment's as a church builder and
debt liquidator show a decided ability in those lines.
He built Pope's Chapel, at Washington, Georgia,
at a cost of $20,000; repaired the Parsonage at Ma
rietta, Georgia, at a cost of $2,000; bought lot and
beautified church, paid church out of debt, at Atlan
ta, at cost of $5,000; left $500 to build a Sunday
School room for St. Stephens at Wilmington, N. C. ;
established an Old Folk's Home and built a Par
sonage at a cost of $4,000, for Steward Chapel, Ma-
con, Georgia. He has lifted mortgages at Athens,
Marietta, Allen Temple and Steward Chapel.

Dr. Fountain has been a delegate to the follow
ing General Conferences : Columbus, Ohio, in
1900; Chicago, in 1904; Norfolk, in 1908; Kansas
City, in 1912, and the Centennial General Confer
ence at Philadelphia, in 1916.

Before becoming active as a minister, Dr. Foun
tain gave part of his time to the school room, so
when he was called to succeed the lamented Dr.
E. W. Lee, as president of Morris Brown University
he was not without experience as a teacher.

Dr. Fountain holds membership in many organi
zations and has an active interest in them. He is
an Odd Fellow, a Mason, and a Knight of Pythias.
He has been twice married. He was first married
to Miss Jessie M. Williams, of Sumter, S. C, in
1893. She died in 1898. In 1899 he married Miss
Julia T. Allen. His first wife gave him two chil
dren, W. A. Fountain, Jr., and Jessie Mamie and
his second wife gave him four children, Louise
Virginia, Sue Jette, Julia Bell and Allen McNeal,
deceased. Dr. Fountain has a high ambition for
his children which he is trying to realize by train
ing their heart and mind as he was himself trained.
He finds great satisfaction and pleasure in his home
life. He has another great ambition also — to
make the Morris Brown University a great Insti
tution, taking high rank among the Negro schools
of the land. He is fast advancing it towards his
goal and has received much encouragement to per
severe in his efforts.

122

JOHN WESLEY GILBERT, Ph. D.

OME years ago the public was
startled to know that Brown Uni
versity had sent a Negro scholar
to Athens, Greece. There were
many causes for this surprise. In
the first place it had been wide
ly exploited that the Negro could not learn Greek.
In the second place the Negro had been chosen
as a representative of a New England college. This
was how it all came about. Brown University, at
Providence, Rhode Island, holds what is known as
an Athens scholarship. This scholarship is award
ed to the best Greek scholar in the University.
John Wesley Gilbert won this scholarship over the
sons of Anne Hutchinson, of Roger Williams, and
over many other lads of distinguished ancestry.
Thus it came about that the American Negro in a
quarter of a century after slavery had sent a
scholar abroad.

John Wesley Gilbert was born in Hepsibah,
Georgia, July 6, 1865. His first years of training
were spent in the public schools of Augusta. Geor
gia. From the public schools of Augusta, he reg
istered in the Atlanta Baptist Seminary, now the
theological department of Morehouse College, At
lanta, Georgia. Going up from the South. Mr.

123

Gilbert made his way into Brown University, and
soon made his mark as a scholar of the classics.
He especially excelled in Greek; so that when the
award was made for the representative from Brown
University, the Negro scholar was chosen to go to
the American school of classics in the city of So
crates and Plato, of Pericles and Demosthenes. It
was here he won his Master's degree.

However, one must live in Athens, and scholar
ships do not always defray all expenses. To pay
h'.s way the Greek scholar served as a guide to
American tourists, who came to visit this ancient
citadel of culture and war. In those days exca
vations in Greece were exceedingly popular. Be
fore long, Mr. Gilbert was numbered among those
who sought to exhume the old walls, pillars and
gates, made famous in ancient Greek stories. He
conducted excavations not only in Greece, but on
the Mediterranean Islands. Few men have been
thus favored to use their classical scholarship.

Mr. Gilbert has been an extensive traveler. He
has traveled practically over the whole of the
United States and visited most places of note and
interest and has visited many countries in Europe.

The trip to Athens only whetted the young scho
lar's taste for more travel. He made two more
trips abroad, when he visited many countries in
Africa and most of the countries in Europe. He
was not only traveling, he was working. While
in the Belgian Congo, he, with Bishop W. R. Lam-
buth, founded the mission at Wimbo, Miami, a
mission which is still in full operation. His work
of investigation and research won him a member
ship in the Archaeological Institute and in the
Philological Association of America.

Mr. Gilbert has been engaged for years in teach
ing and preaching. He began his course as a
teacher in Paine Coollege, Augusta, Georgia, in
1889. He was Dean of Theology in Paine for three
years. Mr. Gilbert entered the ministry in 1895, in
the C. M. E. 'Church. In 1901 he was a member of
the Ecumenical Congress, which assembled in Lon
don, England. He is at present commissioner for
and professor of Greek, in Paine College.

He has kept his membership alive in many of the
organizations at home. His membership in the A.
M. E. Church has been one of much activity. He
has held the office of superintendent of African
missions for many years. He is a Mason, a Knight
of Pythias and an Odd Fellow. In the Knight of
Pythias he is Grand Auditor.

He was married in 1889 to Miss Oceola Pleasant,
a native of Augusta, Georgia. Four children have
been born to them, of whom three are living.

His real estate holdings are valued at $15,000 and
he is a holder of several shares in a realty company
of Augusta.

KEMPER HARRELD.

EM PER Harreld, known the coun
try over as a concert violinist,
popular also as a teacher of violin
and as a chorus director, was born
and reared in Muncie, Indiana.
From his youth he was a musical
prodigy. His special talent first
manifested itself in song ; so much so that under
the tutelage of Miss Nannie C. Love, who was in
charge of the public school music, he soon became
known as the boy singer. However, the violin had
early fallen into his hands, and while singing, he
was also after his boy fashion making rich tones on
the violin, becoming in a short time, at least a
fiddler.

Following his bent Mr. Harreld took special stu
dies in his home town and then in Indianapolis.
From Indianapolis he entered the Chicago Musical
College and studied violin under Chiheiser, theory
under Maryott and Falk, and composition under
Borowski. Mr. Harreld's next studies were pur
sued under Frederick Frederiksen, a celebrated
violinist from the Royal College of Music in Lon
don. Three years of hard work with Frederiksen
gave Mr. Harreld a much finer touch, higher tech
nique and greater confidence in himself.

Meantime he had become well known in Amer
ica as one of the leading violinists. To the laity
he was already perfect in technique, harmony, and
those points of excellence for which musicians so
eagerly and so sedulously strive.

Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, was
among the institutions to invite Mr. Harreld to be
come a member of their teaching staff. Atlanta
being a field of rare possibility, due to the high in
tellectual standard, Mr. Harreld became a teacher
of music at Morehouse, and established a studio
on Chestnut Street in the city.

Here in Atlanta Mr. Harreld lives an exceeding
ly busy life. As a teacher of private pupils he takes
every minute of his spare time. As a chorus direc
tor he with his chorus is constantly in demand. He
has developed an orchestra for Morehouse, an or
chestra of from eighteen to twenty-three members,
picked from a student body of not more than four
hundred and fifty students. Biggest of all, Mr.
Harreld has a choir chorus of three hundred voices,
a chorus which is made up of choirs from twenty-
eight churches. When Billy Sunday preached in
Atlanta his chorus was increased to fifteen hun
dred voices, who sang to an audience of seventeen
thousand.

Dear as these honors are, Mr. Harreld has not
decided to rest on what he already knows and can
do. Busy as he is with his regular music at More-
house, with private pupils, chorus work and violin
recital, he nevertheless steals time here and there
for intense study and observation. The year 1914,
for example, found him stealing away to spend his
vacation to study in Berlin. Unhappily, the war
broke forth during his stay in Berlin, and he and
Mrs. Harreld were held by the German Govern
ment for twenty-five days, before they were al
lowed to leave for America.

Since that time owing to disturbances every
where Mr. Harreld has not returned to Europe to
study. He has traveled, however, in England, Hol
land and Germany in recital engagements, and in
nearly every part of the United States. His studies
have during his work at Morehouse taken a prac
tical turn, going into Negro music and its possi
bilities.

It is difficult to determine what branch of music
Mr. Harreld excels in, as a music master, a chorus
director, or as a concert violinist. In the first two —
Atlanta gives him the leading place. In the last
named the papers of various cities in which he has
appeared vie with one another in singing his praise.
This from the College Bulletin of Birmingham is
typical, and at the same time expresses the great
esteem in which he is held.

"Plays in most finished and artistic style with
brilliancy and very beautiful tone. Has no equal in
temperament and expression."

What Mr. Harreld himself considers his best ef
fort was a benefit concert given in the Auditorium-
Armory in Atlanta. For this he organized the cho
ral and orchestral forces of the six higher institu
tions for Negro education in Atlanta — Atlanta Uni
versity, Morris Brown University, Clark Univer
sity, Morehouse College, Spelman Seminary and
Gammon Theological Seminary. There were five
hundred in the chorus and a large orchestra. This
program was rendered before 5000 persons.

Mr. Harreld was married on June 11, 1913, to
Miss Claudia White, daughter of the famous Dr.
W. J. White, of Augusta. They have one child, a
daughter, Josephine Eleanor, who is three years
of age.

124

JOHN HOPE, A. B., A. M.

OHN Hope, President of More-
house College, was born in Au
gusta, Georgia, June, 1868, the
son of James and Mary Francis
Hope. After some years of ele
mentary education, secured large
ly by his own efforts, he entered Worcester
Academy, (Mass.,) in the fall of 1886. He was
prominent in the activities of the school, becoming
editor-in-chief of the Academy, the Student Month
ly ; and at graduation he was class historian and
a commencement speaker. Entering Brown Uni
versity in 1890, he received the A. B. Degree in
1894, with the distinction of being class orator. In
1907 his Alma Mater conferred on him the A. M.
degree. In October 1894, Mr. Hope entered the
service of the American Baptist Home Mission
Society as a teacher in Roger Williams University,
Nashville, Tenn. In 1898 he was transferred to At
lanta Baptist College. On the resignation of pres
ident Sale he was promoted to the presidency, ser
ving for the first year as Acting President. In
1897 he was married to Miss Lugenia D. Burns, of
Chicago, 111., He is the father of two boys, Ed
ward Swain and John, Jr. President Hope is one

of the leading figures in the education of the negro
in the South, and his time is largely drawn upon
by many activities for social or educational service.
In 1915-16 he was President of the National Asso
ciation of Teachers in Colored Schools ; he is a
member of the Board of Managers of the Y. M. C.
A., of Atlanta, of the Advisory Board of the Na
tional Association for the advancement of the Col
ored People, of the Executive Committee of the
Urban League of New York, of the committees on
the Spingarn Medal, of the Anti-Tuberculosis
Association, of Atlanta, and of various boards of
the State Baptist Convention. President Hope's
chief interest, however, remains, the education of
men and boys ; and the fact that he has given him
self to his work in such wholehearted fashion lar
gely accounts for the rapid advancement that
Morehouse College has made within the last ten
years.

In the summer of 1918, President Hope was giv
en a leave of absence by the American Baptist
Home Mission Society and was appointed by the
Young Men's Christian Association as a Special
Secretary for the oversight of the Negro soldiers
of America in France. In this capacity he has ren
dered such distinguished service for the improve
ment of the morale of the army that he has been
requested to continue in this work until the sum
mer of 1919. He has complied with this request,
and is still at his work that covers over fifty cities.

The following estimate of the administration of
President Hope has been taken from the "History
of Morehouse College," written by the Dean.
"One of the outstanding features of the adminis--
tration of President Hope has been the excellent
understanding between the head of the college and
the student body. In the era of "Atlanta Baptist
College" the aggressive spirit that caused the in
stitution to be widely known first received real
impetus. In more recent years it has developed
into a devotion with which the youngest student
becomes acquainted as soon as he is enrolled.
Whatever question may arise, the students know
that presiding over the college is one looking out
for their best interests, in vacation as well as term
time, and one with whom there may be the frank
est conference. The response comes in a loyalty
that has never failed when anything involving the
highest welfare of the college was at stake."

President Hope lived the life he endeavored to
impress upon the young men coming under his
influence and stands out before them as an example
worthy of their imitation.

To impress oneself upon the rising generation
in such a way as to incite them to a high ideal of
life is worthy the effort of any man. This pleas
ure and satisfaction is President Hope's.

125

GRAVES HALL, MOREHOUS E COLLEGE, ATLANTA, GA.

hlE Morehouse College in the city
of Atlanta, Georgia, is operated
by the American Baptist Home
Mission Society, of New York,
for the education of Negro young
men, with special reference to the
preparation of ministers and teachers.

HISTORY

The College was organized in the year 1867, in
the city of Augusta, Georgia, under the name of
"The Augusta Institute." In 1879, under the pres
idency of Rev. Joseph T. Robert, LL. D. (1871-
1884), it was removed to Atlanta and incorporated
under the name "Atlanta Baptist Seminary." At
this stage of its growth the institution owned only
one building, that a comparatively small three-
story structure, located near what is now the Ter
minal Station. President Robert was succeeded
by President Samuel Graves, D. D., in 1885. Dr.
Graves served as president until 1890. continuing
as Professor of Theology for four years longer.
In 1889, as the surroundings of the old location in
Atlanta had become unfavorable, a new site was
secured, and in the spring of 1890 the school
was removed to its present location. In the au
tumn of this year President George Sale, (1890-
1906- entered upon his duties. In 1897 amend
ments to the charter were secured, granting full
college powers and changing the name of the in
stitution to "Atlanta Baptist College." In 1906
President Sale resigned to become Superintendent
of Education of the American Baptist Home Mis

sion Society, and was succeeded by President
John Hope, who had been a professor on the
faculty since 1898. By a vote in 1912 of the Board
of Trustees, concurred in by the American Bap
tist Home Mission Society, and by a change in
1913, of the charter granted by the State of Geor
gia, the name of the institution became "More-
house College," in honor of Rev. Henry L. More-
house, D. D., Corresponding Secretary of the Am
erican Baptist Home Mission Society and the con
stant friend and benefactor of the Negro race.
CAMPUS

The campus is thirteen acres in extent. It oc
cupies one of the highest points of land in the city,
1,100 feet above sea-level, and commands a fine
view of the city and surrounding country. For
beauty and healthfulness, the situation could not
be surpassed. The property is on West Fair
Street, at the junction of Chestnut Street, with
in half an hour's walk from the post-office and
railroad stations.

The following is taken from the Department of
Interior bureau of education Bulletin, 1916, No.
39:

"It is a young men's school of secondary and col
lege grade with classes in theology and an ele
mentary department. It is the leading Baptist
school of Georgia, and holds high rank among the
schools of the South.

The institution is owned by the American Bap
tist Home Mission Society. A self-perpetuating
board of trustees acts in an advisory capacity.

126

t

* -.

MOREHOUSE REPRESENTATIVES AT CAMP DODGE, DES MOINES, IOWA.

It has an attendance of 277, of which number 150
are boarders ; the teaching force consists of 14
males and five females, two of which are white and
the remainder colored. The teachers are devoted
to the welfare of thir pupils and command the con
fidence of the student body. Besides the element
ary and secondary grades ,there is a short course
in music, Bible and manual training. This prepara
tory course is required of all students. There are
no elective courses. All pupils entering the col
lege are required to complete the foreign lan
guages of the secondary course.

The simple theological courses offered serve a
useful end, in training ministerial students.

Graves Hall, erected in 1889, at a cost of twenty
eight thousand dollars, and named in honor of
President Graves is the chief college dormitory.
Quarles Hall, erected in 1898, at a cost of Fourteen
thousand dollars, and named in honor of Reverend
Frank Quarles, for many years pastor of Friend
ship Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia, and presi
dent of the Georgia State Baptist Convention, con
tains the class rooms in which the work of the
English Preparatory Department is done with a
floor for science work in Chemistry and Physics.
Sale Hall, erected at a cost of forty thousand dol
lars, in 1910, and named in honor of President Sale,
has recitation rooms and a chapel with seating ca
pacity of seven hundred. Robert Hall, erected in
1917, at a total cost of thirty thousand dollars, has
a basement that is used as a dining room and three
floors devoted to dormitory purposes.

This is emphatically a Christian school. The
faculty keeps constantly in mind the fact that
it was founded by a missionary organization, and
is sustained by the contributions of Christian peo
ple for the Christian education of young men. The
Bible has a place in the regular course of study.
Generally, Morehouse College encourages all acti
vities — religious, literary, athletic — which make
for the development of Christian Ideals and for
the culture of a sound mind, in a sound body.

The College has taken a prominent part in the
war. Already recently from the student body two
hundred men have be'en furnished for active ser
vice. As many as fourteen were commissioned at
the Officers' Training Camp, at Camp Dodge, Iowa.
Twenty-four volunteered for service in the Signal
Corps at Camp Sherman, Ohio. In the fall of
known to be either preaching or teaching, while
Government for the formation of a unit of the
Student Army Training Corps, and a broad plan
was launched whereby the total resources of the
institution were made available for war uses.

In the summer of 1918 President Hope, was
summoned to France for special Y. M. C. A. work
among Negro soldiers.

The large idea of the alumni of the college is that
of service. No less than three fifths of the living
graduates of Morehouse College are definitely
known to be either preaching or teaching, while
at least another fifth are engaged in the work of
the medical profession, the Y .M. C. A. or other
lines of definite service.

127

ALEXANDER D. HAMILTON.

R. Alexander D. Hamilton of At
lanta, Georgia, is the father of a
large family, the owner of a sub
stantial business, and of consid
erable property and has invest
ments in many Negro enterprises
in and around Atlanta.

Mr. Hamilton was born in Eufaula, Alabama, in
the year 1870. When but six years of age, his fa
ther moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where he was im
mediately enrolled as a pupil in the public school,
thus beginning his preparation for life at an early
age. His parents were not only concerned about
his mental developement, but had regard for his
spiritual training and saw that he was placed under
the uplifting influence of the church. These two
agencies, the church and the school, developed him
rapidly. He completed his course in the public
school when only thirteen years old and was re
ceived into the membership of the church at the
age of eleven.

After passing through the public schools Mr.

Hamilton entered the Atlanta University, where he

remained until he had completed the preparatory

course.

Atlanta University has long been noted for its

thorough course in manual training. It was at
Atlanta University in this course that Mr. Ham
ilton learned the further use of the carpenters'
tools, for which he cultivated so great a liking.

This disposition to the carpenter trade was
instilled in him from childhood. His father pur
sued this trade and had become a contractor of
some note. The youthful Hamilton, quick to learn
and of an observant tendency, soon learned the
use of the tools, which greatly aided him in his
studies in the industrial department of the Atlanta
University. Now ready for his life work he en
tered the employment of his father and applied
himself energetically to his task. Fidelity to the
interest of his fathers' business brought its reward
and after five years of service he was admitted to
the membership of the firm. From that date until
the death of his father the name of the firm was
A. Hamilton and Son. His father died in 1911,
since which time the son has continued the business
alone. His conduct of the business keeps it up to
the high standard for which the firm is noted.

As a young man, Mr. Hamilton worked hard to
gain a footing. The fact that he was in the em
ploy of his father seemed to spur him on rather
than to make him take his ease. Struggling hard
to make his place as a carpenter, he wished also to
establish a certain financial competence. To this
end he saved as regularly and as systematically as
he worked. Thirty years of working and saving
have brought encouraging returns. He owns a
$7,000 home, has pieces of rent property valued at
$5,500, carries $17,000 Life insurance, the payment
of whose policies requires a pretty large income,
and has some $3,000 invested in various Negro en
terprises.

He appraised money, however, not as a means
of luxury, and show, but as a means of usefulness,
an avenue to larger service. This too, has come
to him. He is a member of the board of directors
of the Standard Life Insurance Company, of Atlan
ta, and secretary and treasurer of Georgia Real
Estate and Loan Company. He is a member of the
First Congregational Church, of St. James Mason
ic Lodge, and of the Century Odd Fellows. He
has been able to travel and to make friends in the
East, in the West and in the South.

With his savings and investments and with his
other responsibilities. Mr. Hamilton has been rear
ing a big family. He was married in 1892, to Miss
Nellie M. Cooke, of Atlanta. Seven children grace
the Hamilton home. The oldest, Alexander D. Jr.,
is 23 years of age, is associated with his father in
the business of contracting and building. The sec
ond oldest child. Miss Eunice Evlyn. is a teacher in
the Atlanta Public Schools. T. Bertram, Henry
Cooke, Marion Murphy, Nellie Marie, and Joseph
Thomas, who is only seven are all students in the
^chool.

128

THE HALE INFIRMARY, MONTGOMERY, ALA.

HIS Institution was born in the
mind of one of Montgomery's
most respected colored citizens,
the late James Hale, who for
many years was one of the city's
leading contractors. He was
known for the high character of his work and his
reliability as a man. As he drew near the sun-set
of life his mind centered upon his people and upon
his two children who had passed into the great
beyond.

The Hale Infirmary is the outcome of his med
itations and is an expression of his deep interest
in the welfare of his people and at the same time
a memorial to his children. It was incorporated
as the James Hale Infirmary Society, Montgom
ery, Alabama, in 1889.

The original plant cost about seven thousand,
($7,000). It consisted of a two story frame struc
ture with capacity to care for sixty patients.

It is modern in its equipment, having sanitary
plumbing throughout and with bath rooms for both
male and females. It is supplied with hot and
cold water, and has modern operating room with
the necessary modern equipments. In addition to
the main building there is a laundry, and small
buildings for isolating patients who could not be
admitted to the main building. The maintenance

of the Institution is dependant upon a nominal
charge for services and revenue derived from the
nurses. It has no endowment. The nurses are
trained in a three year course and during their
training are frequently called upon to render ser
vice outside of the infirmary and the revenue de
rived from their services is a valuable asset to the
Institution. The experience gained by the nurses
in the operating room becomes invaluable to them
in their course of training. The head nurse of the
Infirmary is the superintendent of the training
school and she has the assistance of two graduate
nurses who teach them the theory of nursing with
practical illustrations. Lectures are also given be
fore the class by the large corps of physicians who
daily visit the infirmary and contribute to its up
build. Dr. David Henry Scott is the head of the
Institution and is keenly alive to its interests and
never tires in his efforts in its behalf.

The control and government of the infirmary is
vested in a Board of Trustees, composed of nine
members.

The Board of Trustees is as follows :
Bishop J. W. Alstork, Chairman ; J. M. C. Logan,
Geo. W. Doak, H. A. Loveless, Belton Murphree,
Dr. D. H. C. Scott, V. H. Tulane, Jas. H. Fagain,
and Jas. Alexander.

129

BISHOP LUCIUS H. HOLSEY.

ISHOP L. H. Holsey was born
near Columbus, Georgia, in 1845,
and therefore saw more slavery
than most men now living. He
was even traded in. having had
three masters before the Emanci
pation Proclamation set him free.

Educational facilities for the colored race at the
date of his birth were very meager in the place
where he was born, so he had but little opporun-
ity to learn but he was a man to make the most
of his opportunities and ride them to a successful
career.

When but seven years of age he was deprived
of a mother's loving and tender care, which added
to the struggle of his early days.

Bishop Holsey is a man of strong initia
tive ability and when emancipation gave him
the opportunity to exercise his gift he immediately
brought it into active play.

Coming in a period when men of initiative were
in crying need he helped meet the demands of the
day and the wonderful manner in which he filled
his place is shown in the many honors and distinc
tions carried by him in his old age.

He is the oldest ordained Bishop of his church,

and one of the oldest men to be in active service
of any kind. He is the first Negro to petition for
a C. M. E. Church, and first to establish a church
after the civil war. He was delegate to the first
general conference of his church and first delegate
to the Ecumenical church Conference and the first
delegate to the conference of the Methodist Epis
copal Church South.

His initiative first manifesting itself in church
work has by no means been confined to that branch
of activities, but has been almost eclipsed by his
labors for education. He is an ardent avocate of
education and was quick to realize that next to re
ligion education would be the great uplifting pow
er to help elevate his people.

He founded the Paine College, in Augusta,
Georgia, took steps for the founding of Lane Col
lege, in Jackson, Tenn. ; founded Holsey Industrial
Institute at Cordell, Georgia ; Helen B. Cobb In
stitute for girls at Barnesville, Georgia. He still
is a trustee and patron of all of these institutions.
He was agent of the Paine College for 25 years.

With these honors from his labors and many oth
er good judgment, he served as the Secretary for
the College of Bishops for quarter of a century,
and was for many years, General Corresponding
Secretary for the connection. He has compiled
for his church, a Hymnal and a Manual for disci
pline. He once edited a church paper, the "Gospel
Trumpet," and held the post as church Commis
sioner of education. Surely if one were bedecked
for uplift deeds of this sort Bishop Holsey would
be literally covered.

All through his youth and early manhood, Bishop
Holsey felt the call for a larger service. Picking
up knowledge when and where he could he secured
his first church as pastor in 1868. on the Hancock
Circuit in Georgia. Five years later at the close
of a two years pastorate in Savannah, he was or
dained Bishop of his church. This makes him push
close to a half century of service as Bishop of his
church.

Bishop Holsey was married at Sunshine, near
Sparta, Georgia., in 1862, to Miss Harriet Turner.
Nine children have been born to the Holsey family ;
of these, three are deceased — among those deceas
ed was Miss Ruth M. Holsey, whose talent as a
musician was already becoming widely known.
She had won distinction in this country and had
studied two years in Paris. Of the children living;
James Henry is a graduate of Howard University
and a Dentist in Atlanta, Georgia.; Miss Katie M.,
a graduate of Paine College, lives with her father ;
Miss Ella B. and Claud Lucia are living in Boston.
The former is a matron, the latter married and re
sides there. Sumner L., who is a printer, also
lives in Boston. Rev. C. Wesley is a Presiding El
der and Missionary in and around Atlanta.

130

MISS CLARA A. HOWARD.

1SS Clara A. Howard was born
in Greenville, Merriwether Coun
ty, Georgia. It has been in
Georgia that she has spent the
greatest number of years in ser
vice. She was one of the first
students to enter Spelman Seminary, when it was
founded in 1881. Miss Howard says of this fact
that she feels almost as though she was one of the
founders. From Spelman she was graduated in
1887. After her graduation, Miss Howard taught
in the public schools of Atlanta. But she did not
feel that this was her place for life work. Always
before her were the needs of the people of Africa :
and so May 3, 1890, she sailed for Africa. For five
years Miss Howard remained in Africa. She was
stationed at Lukungu, Congo, South West Africa.
Here she tried in her very effective manner to
reach the people and to teach them how to live, as
well as how to be Christians. At the same time,
Miss Howard had to fight the African fever. Af
ter five years of work she had to come back to
America to rest. Her health was very slow in
returning, and after a time she had to give up all
hope of ever returning to Africa.
In 1899, Miss Howard became a member of the

faculty of Spelman Seminary. At first she served as
assistant matron in the Student Boarding Depart
ment, but in 1909 she became the only matron in
that department. Of her work here, Miss Howard
says, "As Matron in the Student Boarding Depart
ment, I come to know every boarding student each
year, and I assure you the field for usefulness is
about as wide as the one in Africa." Any one
hearing a group of Spelman girls discussing their
teachers either before or after graduation will soon
hear them come to Miss Howard. By her quiet,
kindly treatment, she has won all of them and, in
winning them as friends, she has helped each one
to a higher plane of thinking and living.

Of the work that Miss Howard is doing in Spel
man, Miss Tapley, the president of the Institution
says, "She is invaluable to us. She fills a large place
and fills it as well as any person we ever had or can
ever expect to have. Very few women could carry
her work so well as she does. No matter what
our difficulties, we can count on Miss Howard be
ing brave, co-operative and helpful."

Besides the oversight in a general way of all the
girls and in particular in the Dining room. Miss
Howard has had direct charge of a number of small
children, who have entered Spelman. Among these
was one little African girl, Flora Zeto, whom she
brought with her from Africa. To Flora, Miss
Howard was everything that a mother could be.
No one talking with Flora after a few years under
the direct influence of this good woman, would
have imagined her origin. Her voice and manner
took on the culture of her friend. Miss Howard
has played the part of mother to a number of other
small girls. During all the years she has been
working in this Institution she has been able to
keep up the habit of treating girls as individuals.
She never thinks of them in mass. All over the
South there are girls and women who remember
the times when Miss Howard stood for them as a
guardian angel. As a part of her work in the
school, Miss Howard has monthly meeting with
the girls in which various subjects of a very per
sonal nature are discussed. Miss Howard handles
these as only a few persons know how to handle
delicate subjects. From her the girls will take any
suggestions for their betterment. Surely her's
has been a life of usefulness. Her five years in
Africa, in Lukungu, alone, represents great good
done, but back in her native country, her native
state and her Alma Mata, she has done a work that
few are permitted to accomplish in a lifetime.

The influence of her useful and consecrated life
will make itself felt throughout the land, as the
girls go forth from this institution, and will re
main to bless her people long after she has gone
to her reward.

131

David Tobias Howard

R. David Howard of Atlanta, Geor
gia, is one of the pioneers among
Negro undertakers. Born in
Crawford County, Ga., in 1849, he
saw much of slavery, of the Civil
War and of the reconstruction pe
riod. A lad of 15 years when the Civil War came,
he was placed in charge of a train load of colored
people, who were being shipped from Atlanta to
Barnesville. Like most of the ex-slaves he found
himself poor, uneducated, deserted when freedom
was declared.

His first steady job was that of a porter in a rail
road office. Here in 1869, he began work for $5.00
per month, boarding and lodging himself out of this
sum. Here he worked for fourteen years. Dur
ing this period, his salary, rather his wages, had
risen from $5.00 to $45.00 per month. By this time
he had managed to save a pretty snug sum of
money and had made up his mind to venture into
business for himself.

He was led to his business venture through ob
serving the business of a firm to whom he had
loaned money from time to time. It was an un
dertaking firm and he observed that they could
afford to pay interest on money borrowed and
make a good profit out of it.

He had no knowledge of the business further
than his visit to the establishment in collecting his
interest, but he had the good sense to see the pos
sibilities in it, so when he decided to enter a busi
ness career for himself he had also decided the
character of business he would pursue. In those
days very few of the colored race, whether teach
ers, preachers or even physicians had specialized
very highly in their chosen occupations.

Mr. Howard saw an opening for the business
and an inviting field and he trusted to his own
energy and business ability to win success.

Like many a man who started out with bright
hopes he soon learned that the path to success is
not a rosy path but rather a rugged way.

He invested his earnings in the Undertaking
business after he had married and had begun to
raise a family, hoping and expecting large profits,
but the profits fell below his expectation and he
realized that the business must be of slow and
gradual growth.

This made it necessary for him to supplement
the business with some other line of work in or
der to support his family while his business grew.
He drove a hack which was really in line with the
undertaking business so that he could give atten
tion to both without neglecting either.

Mr. Howard is not easily discouraged and is a
man of great determination so the difficulties in
his way did not deter him but rather acted as a
spur to awaken his energy. He went forward and
in the course of time won his fight and established
the large undertaking establishment over which
he now presides.

He not only established a large business, but
also a reputation as a business man who commands
the respect of the citizens of Atlanta, Georgia, and
of the entire state.

Mr. Howard has not confined his business ope
rations to the city. As his undertaking business
developed and he made a surplus money for in
vestment he turned his attention to the country
and invested in farm lands and the raising of cat
tle. He has several farms outside of Atlanta
where he cultivated gardens, planted orchards and
raised cattle. His country places serve to rest his
mind from the exactions of his undertaking busi
ness and the stress of city life. The country air
and diversions of the farm no doubt account for
his own fine health and that of his family and con
tributes to the optimistic spirit which character
izes him.

Incidentally this ex-slave who started working
for $5.00 a month nearly half a century ago is now
worth $175,000. Most of this he has invested in
real estate and farms, the way he thinks most col
ored people should invest their money, especially in
farm lands. Though he has amassed so large a sum
Mr. Howard is by no means a stingy man. Indeed,
he is quite the opposite, having an open purse for
any uplift work of his city. A recent instance of
this kind is his being the first among the few to
subscribe $1000 for the Negro Y. M. C. A. building
of Atlanta.

Much of his income, too, he has spent in educat
ing his children. Mr. Howard was married in 1870
to Miss Ella Buanner of Summerville, Georgia.
Nine children have been born into the Howard fam
ily. These Mr. Howard has given the best educa
tion available. Some have been graduated from
Atlanta University, some from the Oberlin Conse-
vatory of Music, some have attended Morehouse
and other colleges. The children are Frank David,
Willie Gladstone, Paul, Thomas Edward, Misses
Eleanor B., Lottie Lee, Julia and Henry Gladstone.
His son, Henry Gladstone is associated with his
father in business.

Mr. Howard is a member of the A. M. E. Church.
He is also a member of fraternal organizations, be
longing to the St. John's Masonic Lodge, to the
Good Samaritan, to the Knights of Pythias, and to
the Knights of Tabor.

132

GEORGE RUBIN HUTTO.

LL who read the history of the
steady advance that has been made
by the colored Knights- of Py
thias, of Georgia will know that
back of the organization is a
strong man. A man who is fear
less in his endeavor to do the right
things for his people, a man who
has the courage, of his convictions, a man who is
a born leader of men is the only sort of man who
could get in behind an order and see it develop so
steadily. The Colored Knights of Pythias of Geor
gia are fortunate indeed to have at its head such
a man in the person of George R. Hutto.

Mr. Hutto was born n Barnelwell, South Caro
lina in 1870. His training in the school room be
gan at an early age and so at the age of twenty we
find him graduating from Claflin University,
Orangeburg, South Carolina. He was a member
of the class of 1890. The following year he was
married to Miss Addie E. Dillard. Miss Dillard
was a graduate of Benedict College which is loca
ted at Columbia, South Carolina. To the Hutto's,
two children were born. One, Marcus Hutto, is
a senior in the Meharry Medical school. The oth
er is a daughter, Miss Callie Hutto.

In church affiliation, Mr. Hutto is a Baptist.
This is another point on which Mr. Hutto, early
made his decision. In fact Mr. Hutto is a man
of prompt action. He was early at school, early
out of school, early married and early settled down

133

to the development of his life along the line he had
chosen. In the year 1895 Mr. Hutto was elected
Principal of the Public School, at Bainbridge, Geor
gia. The same year he joined the Masonic order.
Thus at an early age we find Mr. Hutto starting
out in fraternal orders. In 1897 there was organi
zed in Bainbridge, Georgia, a court of the Order
of the Knights of Pythias, known as the Lucullus
Lodge, No 45. Mr. Hutto joined the order at the
organization of this new lodge. From the first,
his great interest and ability as a leader, won for
Mr. Hutto distinction in the ranks of Pythians. In
1900 in the City of Valdosta, he was elected Grand
Lecturer of the Knights of Pythias of Georgia. For
four consecutive times he was re-elected to this
position. In 1905 he was elected Vice-Chancellor
of the organization for his State. At that time ser
ving as Chancellor was Mr. C. D. Creswell. At the
death of the Chancellor in 1910, Mr. Hutto filled out
the unexpired term and at the next session, which
was held in the city of Macon, he was elected to
the position of Grand Chancellor. To this position
he has been re-elected each year since. The figur
es of the order show the marvelous growth of
the organization, Mr. Hutto's influence in the de
velopment of the body did not begin with his elec
tion to the position of Grand Chancellor. It be
gan rather witTi his admission as a member when
the court was formed in Bainbridge. Through all
the following years his influence for the develop
ment of the Knights of the State of Georgia was
secured. As a lecturer he served and served well.
In this position he had ample opportunity to bring
before the people the merits of the order and the
benefits to be derived therefrom. His next step
upward in this body was that position of Vice-
Chancellor. Here he learned all the workings and
rulings of the order and when the death of Mr.
Creswell put upon Mr. Hutto the work of head
man for the State of Georgia, he was ready. The
order has developed steadily under his leadership.
Of the State of Georgia has been said, "This is our
Banner State." For the truth of this statement
much of the credit is due Mr. Hutto.

The first Court organized in this State was the
Opal Court, No. 41, by Sir J. C. Ross, at Savannah,
1889, with Sir J. C. Ross, W. C.

The Grand Court was organized at Atlanta, Ga.,
July, 1892, by Rev Israel Derricks, Supreme Wor
thy Counsellor, with the following Grand Officers :
Mrs. W. L. Catledge (Hill,) G. W. C; Mrs. R. L.
Barnes, G. W. Ix. ; Sir C. A. Catledge, G. R.. of
Deeds ; Sir F. M. Cohen, G. R., of Deps. ; with Sir
J. C. Ross and Dr. T. James Davis, P. G. W. C,
Mrs. Catledge (Hill,) served one year, 1902-3, as
G. W. C. Mrs. R. L. Barnes was elected 1893. and
has served continuously until 1917.

In 1900 there were 21 Courts, 450 members, with
$92.75 Endowment on hand.

1910, 218 Courts, 8,000 members, 94 deaths, $11,-
318.60 collected for Endowment, $10,140.00 paid on
claims, $20,353.73 balance on hand, 36 Juvenile
Courts, 1150 members.

1915, 350 Courts, 12,500 members, 268 deaths,
$26,408.10 Endowment collected, $24,380.00 paid on
claims, $29,450.80 balance on hand. Grand Court
fund balance on hand, $2,250. Georgia is the
Banner Grand Court of the order.

REVEREND EDWIN POSEY JOHNSON, A. B.

HE subject of this sketch was
born Feb. 22, 1849, in Columbus,
Georgia. His father, William
Warren Johnson, was brought to
Georgia from Maryland, where he
received considerable education
and was taught the Stage-build
ing trade. His mother, Caroline
Posey came from Virginia to Georgia, with her
owners, in whose family her people had been rear
ed for generations. Her master, Major Nelson, be
lieved that colored people, as well as white should
be taught to read so as to study the Bible for them
selves. Hence his mother was a constant reader
of the Bible and other good books.

Freedom came to him when at the age of sixteen.
The first opportunity for learning to read and
write was in a little dirt-floor school house in an
alley. Here with many others he tackled a Blue
Back Spelling Book. The next year he hired him
self to work on a farm and walked a mile and a
half to a night school, taught by Mrs. Lucy E. Case
and others. When Mrs. Case became matron at
Atlanta University, she persuaded him to attend
school there. In the fall of 1873, having saved up
$150, he matriculated at Atlanta University. By
working as an engineer at school and teaching
during the summers, he was enabled to remain in
school. In 1874 he was converted under the min
istry of Rev. Geo. W. Walker, one of the instruc

tors.. With an unfailing courage he continued his
studies until he graduated in 1879, with the degree
of A. B. On July of that year he was ordained as
a minister of the Gospel by his pastor, Rev. Frank
Quarles, and others in Friendship Baptist Church,
Atlanta, Georgia. He served his denomination one
year as a missionary, then taught six years in Haw-
kinsville, during which time he built the two-story
school house at the cost of $1,600.00. From his
arduous labors at Hawkinsville, he has had the
pleasure of seeing many of his pupils occupying
places of usefulness. Leaving Hawkinsville, he
served as principal of the Mitchell Street School,
Atlanta, Georgia, for two terms.

On December 26, 1882, he was married by Rev.
Henry Way, to Miss E. S. Key. In 1888 he was
called to the pastorate of Calvary Baptist Church,
Madison, Georgia. During the eleven years of his
stay there, he made many improvements on the
church property and added to the church more than
five hundred precious souls. While at Madison,
he was elected by the board of Education as the
first principal of the city school for colored people,
which he organized and directed till a suitable man
could be found.

In 1899 he was elected as general manager of the
New Era Institute Work, under the joint auspices
of the Home Mission Society of New York, The
Southern Baptist Convention and the General Mis
sionary and Educational Convention of Georgia.
This position, for three years took him to all parts
of the state.

For several years he was instructor at Phelps
Hall Bible Training School, vTuskegee Institute,
Alabama. Here he filled the position with satis
faction to all concerned.

In 1901 Rev. Johnson was called to pastor the
Reed Street Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia.
Here he has been, laboring for sixteen years, or
ganizing, building, giving to the church the ripe
fruits of all his experiences in the school room and
country and town churches. As a result, the
church is now organized into practical and useful
committees and anxiliaries. Also a new stone
church edifice, situated on the corner of Frasier
and Crumley Streets, which when finished will cost
$25,000, is now almost completed and more than
400 members have been added. When the new
building was begun, the pastor reduced his own
salary $15 per month, thereby setting an example
of economy. He sets a further example by living
in his own home, keeping his credit up to such a
high standard that he and the church of which he
is pastor can secure money and commodities on
his name.

Rev. Johnson is treasurer of the Atlanta Baptist
Minister's Union; Secretary of the Board of Trus
tees of Spelman Seminary; Secretary of the Refor
matory Board ; Treasurer of the General Mission
ary Educational Board ; Treasurer of the State B.
Y. P. U. Convention ; Chairman of the Reid Orphan
Home, at Covington, Georgia; Member of the Exe
cutive Board of the Madison Association ; Geor
gia's Foreign representative of the National Bap
tist Convention and Instructor in the Divinity De
partment of Morehouse College.

ROBERT EDWARD PHARROW.

LT HOUGH there are a great num
ber of Negro carpenters and
builders tbere are comparatively
few who might be termed con
tractors, taking that term in its
larger sense of erecting large
buildings, dormitories, school houses, temples for
the fraternities, hotels and office buildings. This
is due in a large measure to the fact that such
contracts call for a large outlay of money and very
few Negroes have the capital to back up such con
tracts nor the influence and ability to secure it.
Another reason why so few Negroes undertake
the erection of large buildings is that it requires
a special training and equipment for such work. It
involves confidence, bookkeeping, managing big
squads of men, time-keeping, dealing in large
freight orders, running engines and so marshalling
it all that the structure will be reliable and satis
factory and the profits ample.

Mr. Pharrow is among the few Negro contrac
tors who have risen to prominence in the con
tracting business. He did not rise to this distinc
tion at a bound, but reached it after years of pa
tient toil and strict application to his work.

He began his career as a brick mason, when a

lad of only sixteen years of age, working under
the old system of apprenticeship. He was quick
to learn and made the best of the opportunity
offered him while serving his apprenticeship and
in seventeen years' time had not only learned the
trade of Masonry, but all that one could learn of
the intricacies of the business without being in it.

At the age of thirty-three he began the con
tracting business upon his own account.

Mr. Pharrow exhibited the virtue of patience
during his long apprenticeship and was so well
fitted for his work when he started business on his
own account that he rose rapidly in the confidence
of the public and received a goodly share of its
patronage.

His reputation as a builder was not confined to
his home town of Macon, Georgia, but he entered
and won, in competing for contracts throughout
the States of Georgia and Alabama. He erected
the new Recitation Hall at Morehouse College, At
lanta, and has built structures in most of the large
cities of Alabama and Georgia.

Mr. Pharrow figures close and does good work
and consequently has made money out of his con
tracts.

Besides the capital invested in a well establish
ed business he owns a good home and twelve addi
tional houses which brings him in a monthly rental
of pleasing amount.

Mr. Pharrow has sought health and pleasure in
travel, his travels having carried him over the
greater part of United States, Canada and Cuba.

Mr. Pharrow was born in Washington, Georgia,
in 1868. As he went to work at his trade when
very young the amount of his schooling was real
ly very small. But he has always made haste slowly
and has thereby atoned for much that he might
possibly have gained from further schooling.

He has, further, kept himself intellectually and
socially fit by membership in the church and in
many of the leading organizations of his State.
Mr. Pharrow is a member of the A. M. E. Church
—of the Masons, of the Odd Fellows, of the Elks,
of the Knights of Pythias. He is Past Grand
Master of the Patriarchs, Past Chancellor of the
Pythians and Senior Warden of the Masons, An
cient Free and Accepted Masons.

Mr. Pharrow bases much of his success upon the
sympathy, advice and cooperation of his helpmates
at home. He has been twice married. He was
married to Miss Martha L. Harris, of Atlanta, in
1892. She it was who stood by him so faithfully
in his first ventures as a contractor. Mrs. Phar
row died in 1911. The present Mrs. Pharrow was
Miss R. V. Garly, of Savannah, Georgia. Mr.
Pharrow has one child, Miss Estelle, who is a
graduate of Atlanta University, and who teaches
in the Atlanta public schools.

135

HENRY HUGH PROCTOR, A. B., D. D.

NE of the best known Congrega
tional ministers of the Colored
Race is Dr. Henry Hugh Proctor
born in Fayetteville, Tennessee,
December 8, 1868, and it was a.
very fortunate date, because he
was among the first to enjoy the
fruits of freedom.

As a boy he attended the public school of his
town. This school was not among the best, judg
ed even by the standard of that time, but the
young man applied himself most diligently and ac
quired at least the habit of organized studying
aside from some real knowledge. He worked hard
here and when he had gotten all that he could from
his town school, he entered Fisk University. Here,
where the standard was high and the method of
instruction good, the young student developed
very rapidly, distinguishing himself both by con
duct and scholarship. Before finishing his college
course one ideal so took possession of him as to
dominate his being — service through the Christian
Ministry. Thus when he graduated from the Col
lege Department of Fisk, he went to New Eng
land, the cradle of American culture, and entered
Yale Divinity School in New Haven, Connecticut.
Here he lived and worked, studying hard while he
laid the foundation for his great life work. His
scholarship rewarded his efforts and when he com
pleted the prescribed course, his was truly a com-

mencement — a commencement of work in a field
toward which he had so eagerly looked.

His first regular charge was Pastor of the First
Congregational Church at Atlanta, Georgia. Of
this church Dr. Proctor is still the beloved pas
tor. To the year of his taking charge of the work,
1894, Dr. Proctor looks back as the beginning of
his vital career. One would be justified in saying
that the church was really established by Rev.
Proctor.

Here in Atlanta, for twenty-four years Dr.
Proctor has labored, developing his church and of
necessity growing himself. With wonderful fore
sight as to the needs of our people — not necessar
ily the needs of the people of his congregation, but
the needs of the Colored people of Atlanta — Dr.
Proctor developed his church, adding to it one line
of work after another until today it is one of our
foremost institutional churches.

Aside from the regular church with its Services,
Bible School, Y. P. S. C. E. and Prayer Meetings,
there are the Employment Bureau, Free Public
Library, consisting of 3000 volumes and the only
Public Library accessible to Negroes in Atlanta ; a
gymnasium open afternoons and evenings ; the
Avery Congregational Home for Working Girls ;
the Conally Water Fountain, whereby through a
unique device ice water is furnished the passerby
in summer; the Prison Mission, whose object is to
help those held in prison through religious ser
vices, literature distribution, and visits giving pas
toral comfort : a Trouble Department whose ob
ject is to render any service possible to those in
trouble ; an Auditorium with a seating capacity of
1000, provided with grand pipe organ, heated by
steam, lighted by electricity and opened for any
beneficial gathering for the community ; and the
Georgia Music Association, which gives the city
an opportunity to hear the best musical talent of
the race. The Annual Musical Festival held by the
colored people in the Auditorium Armory is due
largely to the Musical Association.

For all this Dr. Proctor is directly responsible.
He has been able to obtain aid for his work from
both the white and the colored people of Atlanta
because they could see the benefit of the organiza
tion.

Though the Institution and his church demand a
large share of his time. Dr. Proctor has still found
time to serve in other ways. He is President of
the Carrie Steel Orphanage in Atlanta ; Assistant
Moderator of the National Council of the Congre
gational Church ; Vice-President of the American
Missionary Association of New York ; and Secre
tary of the Congregational Workers among Col
ored People.

One year before he came to Atlanta, Rev. Proc
tor married Miss Adeline Davis of Nashville, Ten
nessee. Their home has been blessed by the com
ing of six children, Henry Hugh, Jr., a graduate
of Fisk University, and at present serving as a
First Lieutenant in France : Richard Davis, deceas
ed ; Muriel Morgan and Lillian Steele, students at
Atlanta University; Roy and Vashti, public school
children.

Dr. Proctor is beloved by all. He is acknowl
edged a Reformer and an Educator. He is doing
much good in bringing about a better understand
ing between the races.

136

Thomas Heath Slater, A. B., M. D.

N the South there are at least two
cities in which there is a splendid
galaxy of educated, prosperous,
refined Negroes. These are Nash
ville, Tennessee, and Atlanta,
Georgia, which could claim super
iority is a grave question. Both have a Negro Col
lege or University on nearly every hill in the city.
Both are full of business men, professional men and
tradesmen. Competition among the colored men in
nearly all pursuits is close. Therefore, he who
gains his place and holds it, does so largely by dint
of excellence.

In Atlanta one could count on all the fingers of
his hands physicians with conspicious careers,
with reputations and practices well established.
Very prominent among these is Dr. Thomas H.
Slater. Dr. Slater is a North Carolinian by birth,
having been born in Salisbury, December 25, 1865.
He attended the schools of Salisbury, his birth
place, and then went to college at Lincoln Univer
sity, Pennslyvania, where he received his Bachel
or's Degree in 1887, and was graduated with first
honors. He then entered Meharry Medical College
in Nashville, Tennessee, completing his course early
in 1890, here he also won first honors.

In March of the same year, Dr. Slater went to
Atlanta, Georgia and began the practice of his pro
fession. Here in the same city in nearly the same
spot, he has continued for this quarter of a century.
Dr. Slater, (with Dr. H. R. Butler) was the real
pioneer of the Negro Medical profession in Atlanta.

Up to this period the Negroes were attended al
most exclusively by the white physicians, in whom
they had the utmost confidence, and it was not an
easy matter to turn them to the colored physicians
who were then beginning to establish themselves
in the South.

It was Dr. Slaters mission to win the confidence
of his people and turn them to the physicians of
their own race, and it was largely due to the fact
that Dr. Slater's unusual ability and qualifications
as a diagnostician and practitioneer were recognized
by Dr. J. S. Todd, at that time Atlanta's leading
practitioner of internal medicine, enabled him to so
rapidly gain this confidence. Dr. Slater has always
been grateful to Dr. J. S. Todd for his recommend
ations and kind assistance in those early days.

In the midst of sharp competition, the constant
injection of new blood and the rapid advancement
of the profession, he has held his place both in At
lanta and in the state of Georgia as one of the
leading and best equipped physicians.

This has not been done through idleness or a sat
isfied state of mind. He has studied continually,

137

both in theory and in practice. His eye is ever alert
for the latest and best in medicine and in the equip
ment of service. His office equipment is among
the best and most modern in the city. It has every
modern convenience and appliance, including an
equipment for Chemical and Blood tests. There is
possibly no physician who realized more forcibly
the importance of hard, continuous study in keep-
ng up with the latest and most successful methods
of diagnosis and treatment of all internal diseases.
He has viewed with keen interest the rapid yet pos
itive changes in the therapy of his profession.
From the excessive use of drugs in the general
treatment of diseases he has watched and followed
the successful advancement of the practice to spe
cific treatment through the use of specific agents,
vaccines, bacterins, phylacogens and organic ex
tracts. His work as a physician early won for him
distinction, both among the men of his profession
and in other bodies. He is President of the Atlanta
Meharry Alumni Association and has served among
the doctors of the state as President and as Sec
retary of the Georgia State Medical Association of
Negro Physicians, Dentists and Pharmacists.

Dr. Slater was reared and educated a Presbyter
ian, and has always found time to faithfully dis
charge has religious duties toward his church. He
has learned that the opportunities for service
comes to the Christian physician in a larger meas
ure than from any other line of endeavor outside
of the Christian ministry. He believes that a strong
moral and religious character is the best asset that
any physician can have, and at this period of racial
development and progress he deems it absolutely
essential.

Dr. Slater is interested in the various orders of
the Colored race, and takes an active part in them.
He is a member of the Masonic Fraternity, the Odd
Fellows and is a Knight of Pythias. He is a Mas
ter of the Local Lodge of Masons.

Dr. Slater has been twice married. His- first
wife, Mrs. Marie A. Taylor, of Austin, Texas, and
a graduate of Wilberforce University, he married
in June, 1903, but lost her by death in February,
1905. In July, 1907 he married Mrs. Celestine
Bass Phillips, of Michigan, a graduate of Bay City
High School. He had only one child, a son, Thomas
Heathe, Jr., who was born February 21st, 1905, and
died November 5th, 1906.

Dr. Slater's home on Piedmont Avenue is among
the colored residences that Atlantans point to for
proofs of their prosperity and good taste. His
home life is a source of pride, pleasure and comfort,
and he attributes his success to domestic peace and
happiness.

PANORAMIC VIEW OF SPELMAN SEMINARY.

PKLMAN Seminary, of Atlanta,
Georgia, the largest school in the
world for Negro girls, carries in
the story of its growth many a
thrilling romance — the romance
of faith, of prayer, of struggle, of
successful rendering of service. For fifteen years
Father Quarles, ex-slave and pastor of the Friend
ship Baptist Church, laid the Spelman foundation
in prayer, beseeching that God would send some
means of elevatiing the Negro women of Georgia.
In the fifteenth year while he tarried in supplica
tion, the answer came. Two ladies, Miss Sophie
Packard and Miss Harriet F. Giles, of Massachu
setts, were the evangels. They came to seek out
Faather Quarles and actually knocked on his study
door while the good man still lingered in prayer.
With the coming of the two ladies began the ro
mance of struggle. Here were the workers, the
pupils were legion ; but there was no school room.
Combining faith and work as best he could. Father
Quarles surrendered to the workers the basement
of his church. This was the setting for the strug
gle. To begin with the school was sneered at by
white and black, being stigmatized as the "Out
Hill." The basement was cold and damp, admit
ting water when it would rain. There were no
desks, no seats. The flooring was rotting away.
A rickety, smoking flue, held up by wire ; darkness,
approaching gloom ! the increase of enrollment
causing them even to hold a class in the coal bin ;
no salary, no definite assurance of support — all this
confronted two women far from home, on soil still
hostile ; women who had taught in buildings com
fortably heated and properly ventilated, who had
drawn their salary regularly and lived amidst hap
py relatives and cordial friends. However, prayer

again entered the struggle. The school had for
mally opened its doors, April 11, 1881. It had elev
en pupils, some old and some young; some were
single, some married. Among the older students
was a grown woman, who day by day looked up
the hill which was then occupied by the Barracks,
and prayed that one day Spelman, (then Atlanta
Baptist Female Seminary,) might occupy this spot.
Each day they gathered, prayed, toiled in the base
ment. The enrollment increased from eleven to
eighty in three months and to one hundred seventy
five by the end of the year. The next year. 1882, saw
the prayers answered. The American Baptist
Home Missionary Society bought a part of the
Barracks, nine acres, which had on the grounds,
five frame buildings. Here Spelman has remained
expanding in territory, in number of buildings and
in useful service to the people.

Grappling every day with want of buildings, of
equipment, of food, clothes and comforts for their
students, the founders nevertheless began early to
shape the courses of study to suit the need of the
people among whom their students had to labor.
To this end they started the Spelman Nurse Train
ing Course in 1886, the Missionary Department in

1891, the Teachers' Professional Department in

1892, the College Department in 1897. In doing
this Spelman was not only serving its graduates
and those among whom they would work, but was
serving as pioneer to a host of Negro schools in
the South, which only in recent years have adop
ted similar courses in their curriculums. Later,
Spelman further expanded its courses. To Nurse
Training, Teaching, Missionary Courses, have
been added courses in music, in Domestic Science,
in Laundering, Sewing, Dressmaking, Millinery,
Basketry, Gardening, Printing. There are, too,
courses in High School and College Departments,
which comprehend the study of Latin and German.
Higher Mathematics and the Sciences, looking to
careers of thought and scholarship.

138

PANORAMIC VIEW OF SPELMAN SEMINARY.

The school is under the direct control of a strong
hoard of trustees and affiliated with the American
Baptist Home Mission Society. It has had
three presidents, its two founders, Miss Sophia
Packard and Miss Harriet E. Giles, Miss Giles suc
ceeding Miss Packard in 1891. The present en-
cumbent is Miss Lucy Hale Tapley, who came all
the way from the ranks of the teachers and who
has grown with the school. Spelman has a faculty
of fifty teachers. Each teacher receives her com
mission direct from the Women's Baptist Home
Mission Board. It registers an average attend
ance of 750 students a year. In all the departments
the school is thoroughly and intensely religions.
Whatever courses a student may pursue, prayer
and Bible study, required and volunteer, and the
doctrine of service play a major part in shaping
the lives of those who come within her walls.

The usefulness of an institution is judged by the
amount of good work done by the graduates and
former students turned out. Judged from this
point of view, Spelman ranks among the highest
institutions in the country. Teaching has been and
continues to be the leading occupation of Spelman
graduates. They are found to be in nearly every
State of the South — in city graded schools, in in
dustrial schools and in ungraded schools in rural
districts, and a number have served on the faculty
of their Alma Mater, Morehouse College, Selma
University, and Similar schools. One tribute to
the ability of these Spelman girls as teachers came
from a former State School Commissioner of Geor
gia. He said that if he had fifty teachers from
Spelman's Normal department, he would revolu
tionize teaching in Georgia.

A large and important class of the graduates are
bright examples of Christian wives and mothers.
Of these many are helpful wives of ministers-; oth
ers are assisting their husbands in their work as
teachers; all are exerting a helpful influence on
the lives of the next generation. Then there are
graduates in a number of other callings — there is
an editor, bookkeepers, stenographers, several
doctors. There are workers in Orphan Homes,

kindergartens, charity work, Y. W. C. A. work,
home and foreign mission work. All of these young
women go out as representatives of the school that
has done so much for them and they are proud to
hold up her banner.

Spelman graduates do not confine their teaching
to books. They undertake to teach their pupils
both old and young, how to live. One encouraging
thing about the work of these young women is the
fact that, as a rule, women and girls, living in com
munities where Spelman students have labored,
have a higher ideal of life, which manifests itself
in the care and the training of the children.

The grounds of Spelman are an expression of
well-organized orderly life within. Th campus it
self has a good effect on the pupils who attend the
school. Going out from Spelman, each girl is op
posed to dirt and trash. Each girl feels that she
must make her surroundings attractive. Then
there is about Spelman an air of having time to
think, to feel, to commune with one's self and with
ones God. The value of this time cannot be over
estimated.

Another feature of the life of the students at
Spelman Seminary is the manner in which they
are cared for while students there. The system
is unique. The boarders are divided into groups of
about fifty, and placed in the care — not of a ma
tron, not in the care of a preceptress, but in the
care of a "Hall Mother." Each girl is at home with
the "Hall Mother," and a "Hall Mother" feels
just as responsible for the girls in her care as
though they were really her own. Here in the pri
vacy of their own halls the girls of any given
group, have their prayers, their study hours, their
little concerts and Christmas entertainments, etc. ;
and then go out and enjoy the more public ones
which take in the whole school. In this manner,
the atmosphere of home is thrown around the girls
and they have the feeling of being really loved
and protected.

Spelman Seminary is one of the best, if not the
best, organized institution among our people. Its
training is thorough.

139

GEORGE WASHINGTON HILL, PRESIDENT
WALKER BAPTIST INSTITUTE.

HE Walker Baptist Institute is lo
cated in Augusta, Georgia, where
it was moved eleven years after
it was founded, from Waynes-
boro, Ga. It was founded in the
year 1881 by Father Nathan Wal
ker. Since its removal it has grown in popularity
and efficiency until it has become known as one
of the most substantial secondary schools in the
State of Georgia.

It is owned and partly supported by a board of
seventy-eight trustees selected by the Walker Bap
tist Association.

While the property of the Institute belongs to
the Walker Baptist Association it has been foster
ed by the Negro Baptists of the entire state of
Georgia, and in a considerable measure of late
years, by the General Education Board of New
York.

In recent years the general public has also con
tributed to its support. In addition to this it has
had many srong Baptists as sponsors.

The founder, Nathan Walker, was followed by
T. J. Hornsby who in turn was succeeded by the
Reverand C. T. Walker.

Under the care of C. T. Walker, popularly known
as the "Black Spurgeon", Walker Baptist Institute
has gained its widest publicity, expanded most, and
done its best service.

The Walker Baptist Institute is a secondary
school with large elementary enrollment. It has
three departments : Grammar School, a College
Course, and a Department of Theology.

The Grammar School covers a course of eight
years. This department is under the direction of
Professor G. W. Hill, who is the principle and who
is assisted by Dr. James M. Mabritt, Dr. L. C. Wal
ker, Mrs. Rubena Newson, Mrs. U. L. Golden,
Misses Labara Kech, Naomi Wright, and Mrs.An-
nie E. Wheelston.

This organization under the management of
Professor Hill, has done much for the young Bap
tist pupils for whom it was especially organized.

While it is a denominational school no student is
kept from receiving its instruction because of his
religious beliefs.

After passing through this departmer.t the
scholars are prepared for their college course and
for the study of Theology.

The aim of the school is to prepare its students
for entrance into life where they must further ad
vance through the school of experience.

The foundation laid for them here will enable
them to gain from the school of experience addi
tional knowledge and strength to ensure a noble
and useful life.

The courses in the college and theological de
partments cover Latin, Greek, Mathematics, The
ology, Psychology, English, Pedagogy, Domestic
Science, and where there are young lady students,
music and studies relating to the Bible as well as
the Bible itself.

The Institution is now nearly forty years old. It
has grown slowly but steadily, both in size and
efficiency. It has rendered a large service to the
students coming under its influence and to the de
nomination which brought it into existence.

Its property valuation is thirty-five thousand
dollars and includes three large buildings, one of
which is a four story brick building containing
thirty-two rooms, used for a girl's dormitory,
chapel and dining room.

The Institution has never been satisfied with its
attainment, though pleasing, but is continuously
striving to advance. Its president has caught a
vision of a great and influential school and he is
bending his energies to translate his vision into an
accomplished fact. The Institution has a bright
outlook for an enlarged and more efficient service.

In this effort he is ably assisted by the Baptists
of the Walker Baptist Association, and especially
by the Reverend C. T. Walker and the members of
his congregation.

140

CHARLES T. WALKER, D. D., LL. D.

R. Charles T. Walker is among the
leading colored men of the world
today. Few are better known.
By common consent , he is the
ablest Negro preacher in the
world without regard to denomi
nation. He is pastor of the Ta
bernacle Baptist Institutional
Church of Augusta, Georgia, where he has been
laboring for nearly thirty-five years continuously,
excepting two or three years when he was pastor
of the Mount Olivet Baptist Church, in New York
City.

His church in Augusta is frequented on each Sun
day morning during the winter or tourist season by
scores and scores of the wealthiest and most in
fluential American people, both men and women.
John D. Rockfellow was for years among his re
gular attendants. The same is true of former
President, William Howard Taft, who declares that
Dr. Walker is the most eloquent man he ever
heard. The late Booker T. Washington said: "I
do not know of any man, white or black, who is a
more fascinating speaker either in private conver
sation or on the public platform."

Dr. Walker was born in the little town of Hep-
zibah, Georgia, a few miles South of Augusta, in
the county of Richmond, on February 5, 1858. His
father was a deacon of the Baptist church and was
also the coachman of the family that owned him.
Dr. Walker comes of a race of preachers. One of his

uncles was pastor of the little church which was
organized in 1848, and of which Dr. Walker's father
was a deacon. The freedom of this uncle — Rev.
Joseph T. Walker, was purchased by the slaves in
order that he might devote his entire time to
preaching the gospel. It is after this same uncle
that the Walker Baptist Association is named.
This association founded and maintains the Wal
ker Baptist Institute at Augusta.

The Johnson's the Hornsby's the Youngs, the
Whitehead's and, of course, the Walker's are all
related to the family of the older Walker's.
These men are the foremost ministers, and have
been for many years the leading ministers and
pastors in Eastern Georgia. Quite recently the
Walker Baptist Association, of which Dr. Walker
has been the moderator for the past eighteen years,
raised for educational purposes, $22,000 in cash—
the largest amount ever raised by any Baptist As
sociation or State or national convenion in the his
tory of the United States.

Dr. Walker's work has not been confined to the
]-astorate. He has been interested in the puMica-
t.'.m of two weekly newspapers — the "Augusta
Sentinel," of which he was business manager for
several years, and the "Georgia Baptist," founded
at Augusta, by Dr. W. J. White, and at whose
death Dr. C. T. Walker became editor-in-chief of
the paper in which position he served for many
successful years. His accounts of travel in the
Holy Land, originally published in the Sentinel,
were afterwards published in book form and receiv
ed a very wide circulation. He was founder and
for many years president of the Negro Fair Asso
ciation, at Augusta. He founded the colored
men's branch Y. M. C. A., on 53rd Street, in
New York City, and also founded the colored Y. M.
C. A., at Augusta.

As an evangelist, Dr. Walker has no superior
among the colored preachers and pastors of this
country. He has been holding meetings in all
parts of this country from Maine to California,
for the past thirty years, and always with success.
No colored preacher in this country draws larger
crowds anywhere .

He has also taken a prominent and active part
in the business and political developement of his
race. He is a director in the Penny Bank, Augus
ta's only colored savings bank ; he is director in
the Pilgrim Health and Life Insurance Company,
the biggest corporation of any kind in the city of
Augusta, owned and operated by colored people ;
he is a member of the Augusta Realty Corpora
tion — a band of seven men owning and controlling
some of the best city property ; and he has long
been a member of the Republican State Central
Committee and he has twice been elected by the.
people of his district to represent them in Repub
lican National Conventions.

In all this work, and in all his many activities,
Dr. Walker has not been an agitator. He has done
more than any other colored citizen of his home
town to bring about pleasant relations between the
two races, and Booker T. Washington says that he
did more than any man he knew to bring about
peace and good will between the two sections of
our country and the white and colored races.

It is a benediction to have lived in the same age
and in the same country with Dr. C. T. Walker.

141

JAMES RUFUS WEBB.

OR some years the city of Macon,
Georgia, has been making bids to
have the state headquarters re
moved from Atlanta to her soil.
Macon's arguments have not al
ways been convincing, but some
how they have more than worried the thinkers and
writers of Atlanta. If wide awake progress of the
Negro means anything Macon certainly cannot be
dismissed with a wave of the hand. Atlanta has
her Odd Fellows building, but Macon has her Pyth
ian Temple, not so pretentious, but very useful nev
ertheless. Her Negroes have not the complicated
interests, due to the multiplicity of big schools and
strong religious denominations, that Atlanta has.
Her black people move more in unison.

Conspicuous among the big Negro business men
who would aid in weighing down the scales for
Macon, is James Rufus Webb, grocer, real estate
dealer, farmer, barber shop proprietor, holder of
big shares in and promoter of undertaking and
broom manufacturing establishments. Indeed they
look upon him in Macon, as a sort of Cotton Ave
nue King.

Mr. Webb was born in 1863, in Crawford county,
Ga. He got his education in Bibb County, in the

142

city schools and in Ballard High School. Much of
his way he earned, the other his father paid. Fin
ishing his school career, Mr. Webb was none too
certain just what he was to do to earn a livelihood
and to make his place in the world. However he
thought he saw an opening.

The Negro business man was making his way,
but feebly, with a rare exception, in Macon in those
days. There was no Douglass Hotel on Broad
Street, ITO Pythian building, little Negro real estate.
However, in 1889 Mr. Webb courageously set forth
as a grocer on Cotton Avenue. Prosperity came
quicker and more abundantly than he had dared
hope. His business flourished without a failure for
thirteen years, when he thought he would change.

Selling out the grocery business he took up that
of dealing in Realty. He had some money and had
learned some of the tricks of business and of invest
ments. Situated in his office in the Pythian build
ing where he could think and plan, he not only made
profitable investments for himself but became a
thinker, a planner, and a promoter for Negro bus
iness in general. He saw that there was a big op
portunity as well as a chance to render improved
service in the business of undertaking. Hence two
undertaking establishments were soon under way,
backed by his name, influence and capital. The
Central City Undertaking Company of Macon is his
own business and he carries a controlling interest
in the Webb and Hartley Undertaking establish
ment.

Just as he saw the chance for the Negro under
taker to render bigger and better service, so he
saw it in several other callings. He thought there
was much room for the improved barber shop in his
town, and he started the Union Barber shop. He
thought there was a chance for the Negro to suc
ceed as a broom maker and he established the O. R.
Broom factory.

Planning and working incessantly, working not
only to succeed himself, but also to give the colored
people employment, it is no wonder that Mr. Webb
has prospered. He does not hoard money, rather he
keeps money moving, investing it, making it in
crease itself. He owns thirty houses, three stores,
and a 165 acre farm in addition to his other busi
ness interests. The farm which has its houses,
barns and the like, he takes pride in looking after
himself.

Thus engrossed in business Mr. Webb has devot
ed but little time to organizations of any other kind.
He and his wife, Mrs. Clara B. Webb, are members
of the A. M. E. Church. He is a Mason, a St. Lukes
Knight of Pythias. He has been treasurer of the
Macon Lodge of Masons and past Chancellor of the
Knights of Pythias.

All his business career, running over a quarter
of a century, Mr. Webb has spent on Cotton Ave
nue. Here are the scenes of most of his invest
ments. Here are all the business establishments
of the King of Cotton Avenue. Thus it is that
through Webb, through Douglass and others, that
if Macon were bidding for the capital on the basis
of Negro business, she could not be dismissed with
a mere gesture.

MADAM MARTHA BROADUS ANDERSON B. M.

HICHEVER city of America may
claim to be the Negro money cen
ter, social and intellectual center
and the like, it is certain that Chi
cago alone carries the palm as the
center of Negro music. There are

but a few of our best musicians

before the public today, whatev
er be their specialty, but have come by the way of
Chicago. Their talent may have been discovered
elsewhere, but the finish and the courage to
mount stages of the country and sometimes of the
entire globe, come from Chicago. Such among the
many are the Williams', Singers, Kemper Harreld,
Morehouse and Madame Martha Broadus — An
derson. Mrs. Anderson is among those whose talent
was discovered and in goodly measure developed
elsewhere. Born in Richmond, Virginia, she gained
her early literary education in the public schools
of Washington, D. C. It was in the public schools
of the District of Columbia that she first discover
ed her talent on the one hand, and learned the ele
mentary technique on the other, under the tutelage
of the late Professor John T. Layton. She soon be
came the leading singer in all public school sing
ing.

At the age of fifteen she was chosen official cho
rus director of the Second Baptist Lyceum, a ly-
ceum which at that time was regarded as one of
the best literary societies in the country.

On finishing her studies in the public schools of

Washington, Mrs. Anderson took the civil service
examination and was appointed to a position in the
Government Printing service, where she worked
for many years. In the meantime, however; she
did not wholly neglect her talent. She studied and
practiced regularly, and appeared in public when
ever time and opportunity permitted.

In 1898 Mrs. Anderson was married to Mr. Henry
S. Anderson and took up residence in Chicago.
Here she made her home, launched out into musi
cal studies and into the musical life of Chicago. To
quote George L. Williams of the Williams Jubilee
Singers— "Madam Anderson is in the first division
of the men and women of the race who are doing
things musical. For ten years she has been active
in the musical life of Chicago, having built up and
directed a great choir at Quinn Chapel, A. M. E.
Church, which, during the time of her direction,
was acknowledged to be the best organization of
its kind in the great city of Chicago. She is now a
director of an excellent choir at Bethesda Baptist
Church and maintains a beautiful and well appoint
ed studio at 3518-22 South State Street, Chicago,
to which a large number of students go to study
vocal and instrumental music."

She was graduated from the Chicago Musical
College in 1908, with the degree of Bachelor of
Music. This is one of the oldest colleges of music
in the West, and Mrs. Anderson is one of the few
colored people to have studied there and the only
Negro to obtain a degree there. Her voice
is described as lyric soprano, very flexible,
tapable of wonderful range. ~ She numbers
among teachers, in addition to those at the Chi
cago Musical College, Herbert Miller, Pedro T. Tin-
sley, both well known in the musical world, Her
bert Miller says of her:

"She has had a protracted course of study with
me, covering a period of years and understands the
principles which underly and govern the art of
singing. I also know her to be an accomplished
musician, her studies of composition, history, sight-
reading and piano giving her education a breadth
unusual among vocalists."

Mrs. Anderson spends her time teaching pri
vate pupils, directing chorusus and appearing in
recitals. She appears before the public not only
in lighter solo singing but in prolonged and heroic
roles. For example, some of the best work on the
stage, that by which audiences best remember her
are the "Rose Maidens." "Esther the Beautiful
Queen," and "The Messiah." In these she is a great
favorite before the general public and before audi
ences of college students. She has sung, among
many institutions, at Howard and at Fisk. At Fisk,
where music is in the foundation stones of the Uni
versity and throbs in everybody's pulse, she won
words like this from the Nashville Globe :

"The entirely new feature on the program was
the appearance of the soprano soloist, Mrs. Martha
Broadus — Anderson, of Chicago, Illinois. To say
that she won a place in the hearts of her audience
is to state it mildly. Her stage manners were sim
ply perfect, and her perfection lay in her simplicity.
To be received as she was by such a gathering as
greeted her was an enviable compliment. She was
to sing four solos, but the audience compelled her
to sing seven, and clamored for more, but the
length of the program forbade her singing longer."

143

GEORGE WASHINGTON ELLIS,

George Washington Ellis, K. C, F. R. G. S., LL. D.

HOSE who marvel at the versatil
ity of Mr. George W. Ellis, of
Chicago, will be even more amaz
ed to know of the wide range of
his education. Mr. Ellis was
born in Platte County, at Wes
ton, Missouri, May 4th, 1876. His parents were
also Missourians, his father being of Lexington,
Missouri. His mother was Miss Amanda Drace
of Clinton, County, Missouri. Mr. Ellis began
his education in his native city, of Weston, where
he attended public schools. From Weston he en
tered Atchison High School, Atchison, Kansas.
Graduating from here, he spent the next two
years in the Law Department of the University of
Kansas. Then he began the practice of law to as
sist in paying his way for four years in the College
of Arts in the University of Kansas. Next he
spent two years in the Gunton's Institute of Econ
omics and Sociology, in New York. From New
York he enrolled in the Department of Philosophy,
and Psychology, in Howard University, Washing
ton, D. C. He has a diploma from Gunton's Insti
tute (of Economics and Sociology), a diploma from
Gray's School of Stenography and Typewriting,
and the degree of LL. B., from the University of
Kansas. In 1918 Wilberforce conferred upon him
the degree of LL. D., in appreciation of his exten
sive work.

Set "over against this long list of achievements
in education are his many successes in life. Mr.
Ellis began the practice of law in Lawrence, Kan
sas, in 1893. In 1899 he passed the Census Board
of Examiners, and was appointed a clerk in the In
terior Department at Washington. Transferred
in 1902, he was appointed by President Roosevelt
and confirmed by the Senate as Secretary of the
Legation to the Republic of Liberia. The next eight
years, Mr. Ellis spent in Africa. He made no end of
excursions into the hinterland, studying the lives
and manners of the African people. Retiring in 1910
Mr. Ellis began the practice of law in Chicago, un
der the firm name of Ellis and Ward. This name
was changed in 1912 to Ellis and Westbrooks, as
it now stands. In addition to a large general prac
tice, Mr. Ellis was elected in 1917 as assistant Cor
poration Counsel, a position which he still holds.
Throughout his career, Mr. Ellis has been a
strong and active Republican. He has been much
in demand as a campaign speaker and advisor. He
is very active in all political movements in Chicago,
taking a conspicious part in their direction and
giving voice to their outcome in various magazines
and newspapers. Active and useful as he is

in National and city politics, Mr. Ellis will
no doubt be the longest remembered, as he is pro
bably best known by his writings. A mere list of
his writings will illustrate how very prolific he has
been with his pen and what service he has been
able to render all black peoples through the press.
His three books are "Negro Culture in West Af
rica," "The Leopard's Claw," and "Negro Achieve
ments in Social Progress." Among his contribu
tions to various publications are "Education in
Liberia," (National Bureau of Education ;) "Justice
in the West African Jungle," (New York Indepen
dent ;) "Liberia in the Political Psycology of West
Africa," (African Journal ;) "The Mission of Dun-
bar," (The Champion;) "Negro Morality in West
Africa," (The Light ;) "Negro Morality in the Af
rican Black Belt," (The Light;) "The Outlook of
the Negro in Literature," (The Champion;) "The
Chicago Negro in Law and Politics," (The Cham
pion ;) "Dynamic Factors in the Liberian Situa
tion ;" "Islam as a Factor in West African Culture ;"

To enter into the merits of these publications is
far beyond the limits of space alloted here. Suffice
it to say that most of the leading daily papers of
the country along with many of the best magazines
have given most wholesome praise to both his
books and articles. Fully as substantial, if not
more so, is the endorsement given him by many
of the leading intellectual societies of the world.
In recognition of his contributions in ethnoligical
studies, Mr. Ellis upon the recommendation of Sir
Harry Johnston, and Dr. J. Scott Keltic, has been
elected Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society
of Great Britian. Upon the merits of the same
writings he has been made a member of the Af
rican Society, London, of the American Sociologi
cal Society, of the American Political Association,
of the American Society of International Law. He
has been decorated a Knight Commander of the
Order of African Redemption, and has been chosen
an honorary member of the Luther Burbank So
ciety.

Mr.Ellis was married to Miss Clavender Sher
man, in 1906. Mrs. Ellis died in 1916.

He is as has been indicated a strong Re
publican, a Methodist in his religious belief,
and was last delegate to the General Con
ference, 1912-1916. He was given a place in Who's
Who in America, in 1912, and in The Book of Chi-
cagoans, in 1917. He has just been selected for a
place in the National Encyclopedia, of American
Biography, volume XVIII, now in the press.

July 1, 1918, at the Coliseum, in a convention of
15,000 people, Mr. Ellis was nominated for judge of
the Municipal Court, of Chicago, for the Repub
lican primaries, September 11, 1918,

145

RICHARD EDWARD MOORE.

EBRUARY 7, 1850, Richard Ed
ward Moore was born in Browns
ville, Pennsylvania He moved
with his parents to Chicago in
1858

In 1871 when he was thirty-one
years old ,he joined Bethel A. M.
E. Church, where he has labored
for the past forty-six years, filling almost every
position a layman can fill in a church.

He is Superintendent of the Sunday School
which is now a splendid working force. Having
all the advanced ideas of Sunday School work,
taught. At the present time the membership is
740 pupils.

In 1868, at the age of eighteen, Mr. Moore organ
ized a military company of boys, ranging from
fourteen to twenty years. They were called the
"Hannibal Zouaves," fashioned in dress after the
famous French Zouaves, of France. The com
pany adopted the lightning quick Zouave tactcis
and soon became the pride of Chicago, and when
ever they appeared in public parades, they were
given rousing applause by the citizens, white and
colored, who saw them.

And a few years later this company entered the
State Militia of Illinois and was enrolled in com
pany "A," 16th Battalion, Illinois State Guards
under Governor Tanner. Mr. Moore received the
first Captain's commission ever issued to a colored
man in the State of Illinois. It was the military
spirit of Captain Moore and good service rendered
by the "Hannibal Guards," in the railroad riots and
the 16th Battalion in the services of the State, that
paved the way for the admission into the State of
the now famous 8th. regiment, Illinois Infantry,
now doing service in the regular army of the Un
ited States, This company is now in France,
known as the 370 Regt., U. S. Infantry, and which

is the only regiment of Colored men in military
service in the world that is commanded by Negro
officers from corporal to colonel.

When a boy sixteen years of age, Mr. Moore's
mother had Richard to join, with his mother, the
Good Samaritans. With the coming years he
became a member of the Odd Fellows, Masons,
Knights of Pythias, True Reformers, and several
Social and Business organizations. Finding it im
possible to render his full duty to all of these fra
ternal organizations, he confined his efforts to the
Masonic Order. From October 1878, to October,
1913, he served as R. W. Grand Secretary of the
Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of the State of Ill
inois, for 35 years. During the same time for 5 years
he filled with credit to himself and the Masonic
Order, the offices of Secretary of the Grand
Chapter of the Royal Arch Masons, Grand Recor
der of the Grand Commandery Knights Templar,
and later on, the Supreme Council Scottish Rite
Masons 33, of the Northwestern jurisdiction ; and
Imperial Recorder of the Imperial Council of No
bles of the Mystic Shrine of the United States.

In 1890 he organized the Grand Chapter of the
Eastern Star, and served as Grand Patron for four
years. In 1892, he began a three year's term in the
office of Grand Joshua Heroines of Jericho. In
1913, he organized the Arabic Court, Daughters of
Isis, auxiliary to the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.
In 1916 he organized the Chicago Assembly Loyal
Ladies of the Golden Circle, auxiliary to the Su
preme Council Scottish Rite Masons. At the
present time he is serving in the office of Lieut
enant Commander of the Supreme Council Scottish
Rite, of the Northern jurisdiction and Chief Rab-
ban of the Imperial Council A. E. A. O. Nobles of
the Mystic Shrine of the United States and Can
ada.

On April 1, 1871, Mr. Moore was employed as
porter in the office of the American Express Com
pany. He gradually worked his way up to pri
vate messenger to Mr. Charles Fargo, Vice-Presi-
dent and General Manager of the Company. He
remained in this position until the death of Mr.
Fargo, in 1902. He was then transferred as filing
clerk to the new Foreign Department of the com
pany, and had charge of more than fifty thousand
files which covered the transactions of that very
important branch of the company's business from
the date of its introduction, 1900 to April 30, 1913.

The world's war caused a general reduc
tion in the employee's rank of all express compan
ies and the company generously placed Mr. Moore
on the Pension Roll, after having served for forty-
six years and six months without ever losing a
day's pay or causing a demerit to be placed against
his record.

At the present time Mr. Moore is actively engag
ed in Y. M. C. A., Church, Sunday School, and So
cial uplift work .

On December 5, 1874, Mr. Moore was united in
marriage to Miss Rosa E. Hawkins, who was a
charming young Chicago belle, of that period. They
lived happily together until the time of her death,
April 15, 1912. Mr. Moore is now pleasantly loca
ted with his daughters, Mrs. Alberta Moore-Smith,
and Mrs. Etta M. Shoecraft, and their husbands,
and his son, Richard Moore, Jr., all forming one
happy household group.

146

High Degree Masonry in Illinois

HE three high branches of the
Masonic Order of the State of
Illinois, are the M. E. Grand
Chapter of Royal Arch Masons,
the Occidental Consistory, A. A.
Scottish Rite Masons, Valley of
Chicago, and Arabic Temple No.
44, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine,
of Chicago.

The Grand Chapter of the Royal Arch Masons
was organized in the city of Chicago, October 9,
1879, with four chapters, Saint Mark's, Chicago;
Saint John's, Springfield; Eureka, Chicago, and
Mount Moriah, Cairo. These chapters were chart
ed by the most excellent Grand Chapter Royal
Arch Masons, of the State of Pennsylvania, which
was organized about twenty-two years, prior to
the organization of the Grand Chapter of Illinois,
by Royal Masons, who were regularly made Mas
ons in lodges established by Prince Hall, Grand
Lodge F. and A. M., and successors, in the State of
Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, the members of
which afterwards received the Royal Arch degrees
in regular constituted chapters in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, and Boston, Massachusetts, said
chapters organized the Grand Chapter of Pennsyl
vania. The four chapters, composing the Grand
Chapter of Illinois, at the time of organization,
numbered only one hundred and sixty companions
Royal Arch Masons. At this time there were
thirty subordinate lodges of Master Masons with
a membership of eight hundred and thirty. The
higher one goes into the higher degrees of the
Masonic fraternity, the number of eligibles to draw
from in order to increase the membership de
creases ; this accounts for the small membership
composing the four Chapters which formed the
Grand Chapter.

Joseph Washington Moore, was elected the first
M. E. Grand High Priest. He was a Mason of ex
ceptional executive ability and integrity.

Companion, William D. Berry, was elected the
first M. E. Grand Secretary. At the present
time, there are fifty-four subordinate Chapters
in the State, with the membership of 2370. The
present M. E. Grand High Priest Companion, Al
bert R. Lee, of Champaign, a man of extraor
dinary ability, is the youngest Companion who has
occupied the exalted position of Grand High Priest.
Occidental Consistory, No. 28, Valley of Chica
go, was organized in the year 1889, by the conso
lidation of Prince Hall Consistory, holding a chap
ter issued by the Supreme Council of Illustrious
Inspectors Generals of the thirty-third and last
degree of the Southern jurisdiction ; whose Grand
East is at the city of Washington, D. C.. Illus
trious Thornton A. Jackson, is Sov-Grand Corn-
mender, and Excelsior Consistory, holding a char
ter issued by the Supreme Council of Illustrious
Inspectors General of the thirty-third and last de
gree of the United States, whose Grand East is at
the City of New York, N. Y., Illustrious Brother,
Peter W. Ray, Sov-Grand Commander. The illus
trious brethren of the thirty-third degree of the
two Consistories were consolidated under the name

147

of Occidental Consistory, which was granted a
patent issued by the Supreme Council of Inspec
tors Generals of the Northern jurisdiction in the
year of 1913. Their Grand East is at the city of
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Illustrious Brother J.
Francis Rickards is Sov-Grand Commander. The
two Consistories held concurrent jurisdiction in the
Valley of Chicago, for a period of eighteen years,
before a consolidation was effected, owing to the
long dispute, as to the legality of the five existing
Supreme Councils, which was finally settled by re
cognizing one for the Southern jurisdiction and
one for the Northern jurisdiction, which by the
two Supreme Councils was consummated d'uring
the administration of Illustrious Brother James E.
Bish, Commander-in-Chief of Occidental Consis
tory.

Occidental is the largest consistory among Col
ored men in the United States, having a member
ship of three hundred and five Sublime Princes.
The present commander of Occidental Consitory,
Illustrious Brother, Charles T. Scott, is consider
ed to be one of the best ritualists and thorough
Masonic workers in the Northern Jurisdiction, and
to him, is due the credit of having brought the
Consistory up to its present high standard among
Scottish Rite Masons in America..

Arabic Temple, No. 44, of the Oasis of Chicago,
Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, was organized in
the month of June, 1893, by Noble Milton F. Fields,
a duly accredited representative of the Imperial
Council Nobles of the Mystic Shriners of the Unit
ed States of North America. There existed at the
time of organization, another Imperial Council,
called "The Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the
Mystic Shrine of the United States and Canada."
The right to the supreme control of work of the
Order was a serious contention between the two
Imperial Councils for twenty years, but was finally
settled by all the Temples of the two factions in
1913, by agreeing to amalgamate. In order to pre
vent future trouble and to obtain incorporation
papers, the title of the order was changed to be
known in the future as the "Ancient Egyptian Ara
bic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine."

When Arabic Temple was organized in 1913, No
ble Henry Graham was elected the first illustrious
potentate and Noble R. E. Moore, the first illus
trious Recorder, with an enrollment membership
of twenty-six Nobles. By careful management, by
these two officers, with the undivided support of
the charter members, the Temple was built upon
a strong foundation and succeeded in increasing
the membership until 1913. when the Temple took
out a charter under the amalgamated Imperial
Council, Noble Robert I. Hodge being the Illus
trious Protentate, and Noble Richard E. Moore,
Illustrious Recorder. The present Illustrious Po
tentate Noble Marcellus F. Coley has no equal in
the country as a live, wide-awake, soul-stirring,
potenate, always presenting something new for the
edification of the members. The Temple now has
a membership of 345, which makes it the largest
temple of Colored Shriners in the United States.

WILLIAMS FAMOUS SINGERS,

Williams Famous Singers

HICAGO is their post office ad
dress : the world is their home.
From Canada to Mexico, from
Maine to California, from London
to Berlin, they journey with all
the ease of the cosmopolite. The
impassable snow banks of Montana, the washouts
in Florida, the heatless theatres in Alabama, none
of these can suppress the rich melody, the good
cheer, the masterly rendition of these singers
gathered and blended from many parts of America.
For fifteen years this troup of William Colored
Singers has had an unparalleled vogue before the
international public. It had its origin back in 1904,
being organized by Mr. Charles P. Willams, from
whom the company takes its name. The personnel
of the troup has been practically the same from the
beginning; no wonder they can blend their voices
with equal fascination in "Who Built de Ark?" and
in the sextet by Lucia

These are no picked-up 'harmonizers," but edu
cated, refined people, to begin with ; and intense
students of music besides. Mr. Charles P. Wil
liams, the organizer, was formerly a student in
Rust University, Holly Springs, Mississippi. His
father, D. A. Williams, Presiding Elder of the Me
thodist Episcopal Church, of Mississippi, was one
of the leading men of his race, but died when
Charles was eighteen years of age. When his fa
ther died Charles was left with the care of a mo
ther and five sisters. Prior to this time he had
been a student of Rust University, and had known
no responsibility greater than that of study and
college athletics. However, he went to Chicago,
and working in various capacities managed to take
care of the family and home. He was not con
tented with the nature of his occupation, and final
ly secured a position with a traveling Male Quar
tette, which in time was abandoned by its leader
and which was ultimately taken over by Mr. Wil
liams. With the remaining members of that quar
tette, he, with the assistance of Dr. Frank L. Love-
land, of the M. E. Church, of Iowa, organized
the Dixie Singers. In the Spring of 1904, Mr. and
Mrs. Williams, and J. H. Johnson resigned from
the last named company to organize what is at
present the famous "Williams' Singers."

Mr. J. H. Johnson, who is Mr. Williams business
partner and Musical Director of the company, was
born in Coal Creek, Tennessee. He and his bro
ther, G. L. Johnson, the first tenor singer of the
company, are sons of a Methodist minister, but
they were in early life sent to Knoxville College,
a United Presbyterian School, Knoxville, Tennes
see, where they each received their literary and

149

musical education. Each of them afterwards trav
eled with the Knoxville College Glee Club, until J.
H. Johnson located in Chicago, and G. L. Johnson
accepted a call to one of the mission schools of the
United Presbyterian Church. Mr. Williams was
attracted to J. H. Johnson when he was directing
a choir in one of the large Chicago churches and
induced him to fill a vacancy with the Dixies, and
to ultimately join Mr. Williams in organizing the
present "Williams' Singers," G. L. Johnson was
then called to this new company. Mr. J. S. Crabbe,
the basso, was formerly manager for the Mutual
Lyceum Bureau. Mrs. Chas. P. Williams was for
merly Miss Clara Kindle of Oberlin College and of
the Maggie Porter-Cole Fisk Singers. The prima
donna, Mrs. Virginia Greene, studied under Profes
sors Perkins and Tinsley of Chicago. Mrs. Hattie
Franklin Johnson was trained at Fisk University, at
Walden and in Chicago under Professor Tinsley.
Mrs. Marie Peeke Johnson was born in Madison,
Wis., and reared in the city of Chicago. She was
sent at early age to Fisk University at Nashville,
Tennessee, where she had eight years in literary
branches combined with piano and vocal music un
der Miss Grass and Miss Robinson, respectively.
Later Mrs. Johnson studied under Mr. Kurt Don-
ath and Mr. A. Ray Carpenter, Chicago, and in the
meantime filled professional engagements with
Fisk Jubilee Singers.

Miss Inez L. McAllister was born at Pueblo,
Colo., and is a graduate from the High School of
that city, is a contralto singer and is Mr. Williams'
private secretary. She substitutes for Mrs. Wil
liams as contralto singer of the company.

To years of constant devotion to their life's work
in the United States and Canada, they have added
a year of travel and study in England, Scotland,
Wales. Holland, Belgium, Germany and France.
They were eighteen weeks in London, where they
gave 130 performances, singing in many of its best
known theatres, among which was the World-fam
ous Coliseum. While in London the entire company
was under the instruction of one of the world's
greatest vocal teachers — Miss Ira Aldridge, who is
a scholar of the London Royal Conservatory of
Music, and whose early teacher was the famous
Jennie Lind. This experience added to natural tal
ent and former years of faithful application en
hances the ability of each individual singer, and has
produced in their case a remarkable musical com
bination.

The V.orld war has brought changes among these
singers, as it has among all kinds of groups the
world over. But their popularity is unchanged;
their enthusiasm is unabated, their talent seems to
grow richer and richer as the days pass by.

A. WILBERFORCE WILLIAMS, M. D.

ANUARY, 1864, Dr. A. Wilber-
force was born to Baptice and
Flora Williams. For thirteen
years young Williams lived on the
plantation, toiling happily with
out the knowledge of his A. B.
C's. Then, in 1876, he came to
Springfield, Missouri, and for the
first time had a chance to attend school. In 1881,
he obtained a license to teach common school in
Mount Vernon County, Mo.

He alternated teaching and studying until he
was graduated from the Normal Department at
Lincoln Institute, Jefferson City, Mo. He then
taught in the summer school, Kansas City, Mo.,
and at the same time continued to study. He pur
sued private studies, took a course at the Y. M. C.
A., attended evening school and the Summer Nor
mal.

Young Williams had some difficulty in choosing
his Mir work. He was a most excellent teacher,
but he felt that he would not like to make it his
life work. He was advised to become a minister.
The } oung man decided that he was not fitted for
such, a calling. Then for a time he felt that his
future happiness depended upon his becoming a
lawyer and a member of the bar. There had been
a cyclone and young Williams had watched the
skill of Dr. Taft, an ex-army surgeon care for
the wounded. He admired that skill as a boy. and
he could not forget it as a young man. And so in

the choice of his profession, Dr. Williams, one of
our foremost surgeons, went back to his childhood
for the inspiration that made him choose the pro
fession for which he was best fitted. And having
definitely decided on his profession, Dr. A. Wilber-
force Williams set his heart on becoming one of
the best, with the ability to saw bones and bind
up wounds as he had seen Dr. Taft do.

Thus it was that in 1890, he left Kansas City,
Mo., and went to New York to attend Bellevue
College — but, they refused him admittance and he
returned to his school room for another year.
When next he started out to get admittance in a
medical school, he applied for the place before
leaving his home. And so, we find him a student
of medicine in Northwestern University, Chicago,
111., where he received the same credit as that of
any other student. He was graduated in 1894, and
then served for two years as resident physician in
Provident Hospital in Chicago.

Dr. A. Wilberforce Williams is Professor of In
ternal Medicine; head of the Medical Department
of the Post Graduate School of Provident Hos
pital ; Secretary of the Medical Staff and Attend
ing Physician of Provident Hospital and lecturer
on Hygiene, Sanitation and Medicine in its Train
ing School for Nurses. Attending Physician for
six years at the South Side Municipal Tuberculo
sis Dispensary .Supervisor of the Municipal Tu
berculosis Sanitation Survey; he is an authority on
all forms of tuberculous diseases, a well recogniz
ed Heart and Lung Specialist and Health Editor of
the Chicago Defender. He is an active member of
the A. M. A., Illinois State and Chicago Medical
Societies, Mississippi Valley Tuberculosis Confer
ence, Robert Koch Society for the Prevention and
Study of Tuberculosis, the National Society for the
Study and Prevention of Tuberculosis and a mem
ber of the Executive Board of the National Med
ical Association and also a member of a committee
of that Association, to wait on Secretary Baker
for the purpose of having colored professional men
(physicians and dentists) commissioned in the U.
S. Army or to give them deferred classification and
not be forced to enlist as privates on account of
racial relations. He is President of the Physicians,
Dentists and Pharmacists Association of Chicago.

The U .S. Government selected him to act as a
member of the Advisory Board in the supervision
of the work of Local Exemption Boards in the ex
aminations of registrants. He was Chairman of the
Second Ward Committee of the Fourth Liberty
Loan, Chairman of the Committee of Physicians
of the Red Cross Home Service Medical Section in
the medical care of dependents of relatives now
fighting at the front ; and aside from these purely
medical organizations, he is a member of the
Knights of Pythias, Odd Fellows, Y. M. C. A.,
Court General Robt. Elliott, A .O. F., Urban
League and Social Service Club.

In connection with his profession he has traveled
extensively over the United States, Mexico and
Canada.

He was married June 1902, to Miss Marry Eliza
beth Tibbs, of Danville, Ky., who enjoys with him
the comforts of their attractive modern home.

Forty years ago he stood before his cabin door
an unlettered boy of thirteen. Now he has found
his place in life and fills it with credit and honor.

150

ed States Army and served until the close of the

war.

WILLIAM H. ANDERSON, D. D.

ORN in Vigo County, Indiana, May
8th, 1843, the Reverend Wil
liam H. Anderson has seen innum
erable changes in the history of
the country, has been party to
many of them, and has enjoyed
with delight approaching ecstasy the strides for
ward by his own people.

From his youth until the outbreak of the Civil
War, his life was much like that of the ordinary boy
of the northwest. The school being four miles
from his home, he got his first teaching from an
older sister. As soon as he was large enough to
walk the distance to school in Vigo County, he be
gan to attend the public schools. As a pupil he be
came very brilliant, usually standing at the head
of his class.

He was just coming into young manhood when
the Civil War broke forth. His first appearance as
a speaker before the public was due to conditions
surrounding the enlistment of Negroes. As is com
mon knowledge now Massachusetts was forming
two Negro regiments, the Fifty Fourth and the
Fifty Fifth. The recruiting officers were seek
ing to draft the Negroes of Indiana into the Massa
chusetts regiments. This Mr. Anderson opposed,
taking the position that the Indiana Negroes should
be enlisted for Indiana and not for another state.

That he was sincere in his protest and not seek
ing to evade, was made clear by later action. When
the time came for the Indiana Negro to take up
arms and bear his share of the burden of war, all
four of the Anderson sons, he and three others,
shouldered arms and went to the front in the Unit-

The war over, he began immediately on his life
as a public servant, and later as a minister. In 1865
he was sent by his regiment as a delegate to the
Negro Convention, which met in Nashville in Au
gust, 1865. In 1870 he began his pastorate. His
first pastorial work was in Rockville, Indiana,
which church he served one year. From Rock
ville he went to Terre Haute, Indiana, where he
was pastor of the Baptist church there for ten
years. From Terre Haute he went to the Mc-
Farland Chapel, in Evansville, Indiana, where for
thirty-five years he has served this church with
untiring zeal and fidelity. This long pastorate
places Dr. Anderson at the head of the Indiana Col
ored pastors in point of continuous service to one
church, and but very few if any can claim a like
distinction in the United States. Another mark of
distinction in his long life of service as a pastor,
(forty seven years) is that he has only served three
churches — the one at Rockville, one at Terre
Haute and the McFarland Chapel at Evansville.
The fact of a preacher serving a church as pastor
for thirty five years is itself evidence of wise lead
ership but to cover this period with only two un
pleasant meetings of the church, is a remarkable
showing. Such has been the record of Dr. Ander
son.

Dr. Anderson has not been an extensive traveler,
but his mind has visited almost the entire globe. He
spends much of his time in his library where he has
access to books of travel and history. He can con
verse intelligently with those who have visited this
and other countries.

He has held many posts of honor in the In
diana Baptist Association and in secret orders. He
has been a Mason for forty years, and is at present
Grand Chaplain of the Masons of Indiana, a posi
tion which he hrs held continuously for twenty-sev
en years. He is said to be the first preacher of his
denomination in Indiana to receive the degree of
Doctor of Divinity, this was conferred upon him
by the State University of Kentucky, in 1889. The
Kentucky Colored people chose him to fight the Jim
Crow Coach Law in the Blue Grass State. This
law was declared unconstitutional by Judge Barr
of Louisville.

He owns his home in Evansville and has interest
in other property. He is the author of a booklet,
"Negro Criminality", which is pronounced one of
the best publications on that subject, Indiana
knows him as the young preacher's friend.

Reverend Anderson has been twice married:
He was married to Miss Sarah Jane Stewart of
Terre Haute, May 31st, 1866. He was married to
Mrs. Mattie D. Griggsby of Indianapolis, Novem
ber 8th, 1017.

151

MOSES A. DAVIS.

IRECTOR of Manual Training and
of Vocational Education, in the
colored schools of Evansville, In
diana, Moses A. Davis was born
in Savannah, Georgia, February
3rd, 1870. In his early years he
attended the public schools and then Knox
Institute of Athens, Georgia. His study in Athens
brought to the surface an almost insatiable desire
for learning of all kinds, but especially of the me
chanical and technical branches.

These he sought as the old scholars pursued
learning in the various centers of Europe. He en
tered Hampton Institute, was graduated there in
1891, then did post graduate work there. During
summer sessions he went to the Stout Institute at
Menomine, Wisconsin ; then to the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology at Boston ; then to Chicago
University ; and Greer's Automobile College of Chi
cago. He has also in his spare time pursued tech
nical courses in the International Correspondence
School of Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Mr. Davis was among the last to receive a com
mission from General Armstrong. One of his first
positions as a teacher was given him through Gen
eral Armstrong, v/ho sent Mr.Davis to Frankfort.

Kentucky, to take charge of the technical course
and manual training work in the Kentucky State
Normal School at Frankfort. Here, being among
the first colored men to teach these subjects suc
cessfully, and knowing his work from a practical
as well as from a theoretical angle, Mr. Davis be
came very popular both as a teacher and as a prac
tical builder. Many of the buildings of Frankfort
were both designed and constructed by him during
his thirteen years as a teacher in the State Normal
School. From Frankfort he went to the State Col
lege in Savannah, his native city, where he taught
for one year.

From 1905 to 1918 he has held his present posi
tion as director of Manual and Vocational training
in Evansville. All along the line Mr. Davis has
been a pioneer in his work, as a manual training
teacher, directing knowledge into useful channels
and convertng prejudice and information into en
thusiasm and devotion.

Great indeed has been his joy in his work. Dur
ing the twenty-seven years of his teaching he has
seen his favorite subjects shake off the ashes of re
jection and become a main feature in nearly every
curriculum in the country. He has put up many
buildings along with giving class instruction. He
is at present erecting with the students of the
Clark High School of Evansville an Industrial Art
Building, which is to be the largest of its kind north
of the Ohio River. Most agreeable to him how
ever, of all his constructive endeavors, is the fact
that while he was a post graduate at Hampton,
he designed the school residence of Dr. Booker T.
Washington.

As busy as he is professionally, Mr. Davis finds
time to do many useful things as a citizen and as an
organization worker. Though a Christian Scientist
in his beliefs, he has affiliated himself with the A.
M. E. Church as a Sunday School teacher and
worker in this body in Evansville. He is a Mason
and a Knight Templar, and is a Past Deputy Grand
Master of Masons of Kentucky. He organized the
present Colored Y. M. C. A., of Evansville, and
was for many years chairman of the committee of
management.

Mr. Davis is very fond of one kind of travel, he
likes to attend the National Exposition. He num
bers on his list the Atlanta Exposition, 1895 ; the
St. Louis Exposition, 1904; Jamestown Exposition,
1907; and the Panama Exposition, 1915.

Mr. Davis was married in 1895 in Atlanta, Ga., to
Miss Beulah Thompson, Mrs. Davis is a graduate
of Hampton Institute, of the class of 1889. She
was trained in the famous Whittier School at
Hampton, and was later a teacher at Tuskegee
Institute. Mrs. Davis is, like her husband, devoted
to practical arts. She is director of the Domestic
Science work of Evansville.

Mr. and Mrs. Davis live in their own home, a very
well equipped and modern residence in Evansville.
They own property valued at about $10,000.

On March 13th, 1918, Mr. Davis gave up his work
in Evansville with an indefinite leave of absence
from the Board of Education, to go to New York
City, from whence he sailed March 30th, for Y. M.
C. A. War work with the men in France under
General Pershing.

152

JOHN WALTER HODGE.

for themselves
it has done.

N the establishment of the Nation
al Negro Men's Business League,
the founder, Booker T. Washing
ton, had as one of the objects
the lending of inspiration and in
centive to men of color to venture
out in the realm of business. This
It has been the cause of do-

cause

ing more and better business among those who
were already out for themselves, and it has caused
many who were timid to cut loose from the jobs
that held them, and take the final plunge for
themselves. Mr. John Walter Hodge belongs to
this latter class. When this organization met in
Boston, at its first meeting he was present. He was
at that time a Pullman Porter. He had served in
this work for six years, and like many another
young man was content with the easy money to be
made in this work. But when Mr. Hodge heard
of the work in the business world, done by other
men in his race, when he heard them tell of how
they had built up their business from very meager
beginnings, he became inspired with the idea of
venturing out for himself.

Mr. Hodge was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee,

September 29th, 1878. Here he spent his child
hood and young manhood. He entered the Pub
lic Schools of his native city and remained to get
all that was offered in that line. As a boy he
worked at odd jobs, in and around places of busi
ness in Chattanooga. In 1899 he obtained a place
in the Pullman service and remained in this until
1905. In 1905 he left the service of the Pullman
Company and went to Indianapolis, Indiana, where
he opened a Real Estate office. His office does
General Sales business, rental and Commission bus
iness. Among the big deals that have been made
by Mr. Hodge might be mentioned the sale of the
present site for the Y. M. C. A. Building, and the
site for the Knights of Pythias Building.

After adopting Indianapolis for his home town,
Mr. Hodge decided to inclentify himself with all
the worthy institutions there. So we find him a
very active member of the Y. M. C. A., of this city.
This branch is one of the most prosperous and
most beautiful among colored people. Mr. Hodge
serves the organization in the capacity of Secre
tary of the Board of Managers. He is Past Chan
cellor of the Knights of Pythias and Secretary of
the Local Negro Business League. He is a Mason
and a member of the Baptist church. In fact,
wherever we find colored men gathered together
working for the betterment of the race there we
will find J. Walter Hodge. He is interested in all
movements for the advancement of the race, and
is one of the most popular leaders out in Indiana
polis.

In the interest of his business and for pleasure
the subject of this sketch has traveled all over the
United States. This has served to broaden him
and to make him easy of approach to all men. Aug
ust 15, 1910, Mr. Hodge was married to Miss Janie
Parrish, of Boston, Massachusetts. Mrs. Hodge
has as great an interest in the uplift of the race
as has her husband. In fact they are one in their ef
forts to improve the people around them. Mrs.
Hodge is an active worker in the Y. W. C. A., of
Indianapolis and stood by the organization through
all the struggles when it was getting its footing.
All of the city love and respect this very unselfish
couple. They live in their own home at 924 Fa-
yette Street.

This is a record of a man who, when he heard the
call of a bigger chance, even though he could not
see his way to the end of it, did not hesitate to ac
cept the challenge. And having accepted the chance
offered him, be has used every opportunity to bet
ter others while he was helping himself. For this
unselfishness, he has gotten a reward in the esteem
in which he is held. All of Indianapolis look up
on him as one of her most useful and most prospe
rous business men.

15,;

F. B. RANSOM, LL. D.

R. F. B. Ransom of Indianapolis,
Indiana, is a southerner by birth,
having been born in Grenada,
Mississippi, July 13, 1882. He
spent his early days in Grenada,
working on the farm and attend
ing the public schools.

Completing his course in the public schools he
went to Walden University, Nashville, Tennessee,
where he finished his literary training, and where
he also gained the degree of L. L. D. His L. L. D.
he won in 1908. He studied Theology in the same
university. Later he read law in Columbia Univer
sity in New York. In 1910 he began to practice
law in Indianapolis.

In Indianapolis he began not only his career as a
lawyer, but a career of usefulness. Walden had
taught him that no matter what his chosen career,
a man counted in a community or state only in so
far as he made himself a genuine asset to his com
munity. This general teaching had been very large
ly supplemented by his study and application of
Theology.

Going into Indianapolis he immediately allied
himself with the Bethel A. M .E. Church and began

to take hold and give practical help in all deliber
ations and undertakings of the church. Here again
both his training in Theology and his education and
practice in law made him a most decided asset to
the Indianapolis Church.

He joined the Masons and Knights of Pyhthias
and, once more put his shoulder to the wheel to
make those organizations greater lights to their
members and to the world.

It was not long before both the church and the
city saw his worth. When therefore there was an
honor to bestow or a responsibility to be assumed
Mr. Ransom was forthwith thought of. Bethel
Church soon elected him to the Board of Trustees.
The Good Citizens' League made him president of
their organization. He had been in the city but a
few years when Mr. Julius Rosenwald, the Chicago
philanthropist, sent abroad his offer to give twenty
five thousand dollars towards building Negro
Young Men's Christian Associations. Indianapolis
had a great many young men. She had been strug
gling to keep their feet in good and circumspect
paths, especially during evening hours of leisure.
The colored citizens saw here the opportunity of a
life time, to build an attractive building, to equip
it with such appointments as the young men would
find in the pool rooms and in the parks without
the liability of vice. A committee was formed to
devise plans for raising funds to put up and equip
such a building. Who but F. B. Ransom, skilled
in law, in theology, in the affairs of life, should con
stitute the bone and sinew of such committee? The
Y. M. C. A. was built and equipped. It was one
of the first to embrace Mr. Rosenwald's offer and
one of the best Negro Y. M. C. A. buildings of the
country, of the world. Much of the credit of all
this is due to F. B. Ransom, to his skill, to his will
ingness to serve.

One by one other honors came to him. If the
church and Y. M. C. A. relied upon him, why not
the world? The Advisory Committee of the Col
ored Alpha Home for the aged colored people need
ed an attending attorney, who was concerned not
so much with fees, but with the general welfare of
the Home and of the people. Mr. Ransom was
called upon to fill this post. The Knights of Py
thias chose him to serve for a number of years as
its Grand Lecturer. Thus today in church, in
civic work as well as in the courts of law, Mr.
Ransom is numbered among the best citizens of
Indianapolis. For the last seven years he has been
acting attorney for the Mme. C. J. Walker Manu
facturing Company and for the last year he has
acted solely in that capacity, having had to give up
all other clients, and perhaps Mr. Ransom receives
the highest annual retainer of any colored attor
ney practicing law.

Mr. Ransom has traveled much both on business
and for pleasure, his trips having taken him over
the whole country. He was married on July 31,
1912, to Miss Nettie L. Cox, of Jackson, Mississippi.
Three little lads brighten the home of the Ransom
family ; Frank, Frederick, and Willard, aged four,
three and two, respectively.

154

REVEREND DIXIE CICERO CARTER

NVIABLE indeed is the attain-
iiiL-nt of Reverend D. C. Carter of
Frankfort, Kentucky. He is both
a minister and a physician. Stand
ing on the vantage point of these
two professions, he commands
the secrets of the body and of the spirit. His ap
proach must be one of large sympathy ; for look
ing into the Mechanism of men's bodies he can un
derstand wherein the spjrit has free play in some
and is debarred or suppressed in others. In him
science and religion unite and clasp hands instead
of crossing swords as they often do in other in
stances.

Reverend Carter, who follows the ministerial
career, was born in Giles County, Tennessee, Nov.
25, 1866. A poor lad, he garnered bits of learning
wherever he could, laboring in the meantime for
bread. Having accumulated sufficient knowledge
he finally entered Walden University in Nashville,
Tenn. He later studied medicine in the Louisville
National College, in Louisville, Kentucky. Coin
ing in a time when education for his people was
unpopular and when the few who wished well had
only wishes to offer, he had to labor at all kinds

of tasks to pay his way. Now he toiled in the
bristling August sun, picking cotton, now on the
railroad, in the hotels, wherever he could turn an
honest and honorable penny, here he was found.

He entered the ministry under the impulse of an
inner suggestion or as it is often called, a divine
call to service, but the inspiration to study medi
cine came from quite another source — it was the
suggestion of the son of his employer. The young
man had just graduated in medicine and was at
home on a visit before beginning his practice.
While at home he urged the young colored lad to
study for the career of doctor of medicine. So
deeply was he impressed with the suggestion that
he decided to act upon his advice and in due time
entered the Louisville National College to prepare
for this line of work.

However, the call to preach took a much
stronger hold upon him than the desire to enter
the medical profession and to the service of the
ministry he has in the main devoted his life. His
knowledge of medicine gives added strength to his
work and influence as a minister.

Reverend Carter is blessed with a good, vigorous
mind which he is using to the best advantage and
being a man of unusual energy it is not surprising
that he was soon equipped mentally for his profes
sion of a minister. His first charge as a minister
was at Elkton Tennessee which he assumed in 1885
at the age of nineteen years. In accordance with
the policy of the A. M. E. church, he was moved
from place to place at stated intervals but always
gave up a charge with the best of feeling between
him and his people. He never left a community
without leaving some imprint of his work for the
betterment of both the church and community,
which caused him to be held in grateful remem
brance by his people and won the gratitude of his
successor.

When he was pastor in Brandenburg, Ky. he built
a church there. He bought a parsonage during his
sojourn at Elizabethtown, Kentucky ; another dur
ing his stay at Shelbyville and built still another
church at Pleasureville, Kentucky. He was the
pastor of the A. M. E. Church in Frankfort for
five years, but is now pastor of the A. M. E.
Church at Ashland, Kentucky.

Reverend Carter has four times been represen
tative to the General Conference of his church ; is
a life Trustee of Wilberforce Univrsity and a Trus
tee of Wayman Institute of Kentucky.

He is a member of the National Medical Asso
ciation and a member of the Mosiac Templars of
America.

He was married in Jefferson, Indiana, in Decem
ber, 1902, to Miss Jennie Williams, and they have
one child, Geneva Ossin, six years of age.

155

JAMES NEWTON SHELTON.

HEN you go to Indianapolis, In
diana, on business, and wish to
talk business with the colored
men who not only know business,
but do business, it will not be
long before some one will intro
duce you to James Newton Shelton. Mr. Shel-
ton is working in his native state. He was born
in Charlestown, Indiana, June 12, 1872. He had
from his earliest youth, good educational advan
tages. His mother and father moved to Indiana
polis when he was one year of age. He attended
the public schools of Indianapolis, Marion county,
till he was ready for the High school and then he
entered The Indiana High School. Here he made
a record for himself not only in scholarship, but in
deportment. While still in High school, Mr. Shel
ton decided to be a business man. No other busi
ness to his mind offered the opportunities to the col
ored man that are offered in the undertaking bus
iness. Colored people die at a rapid rate, if not at
a greater rate than do the people of other races,
and of course they require a burial. This, to the
mind of Mr. Shelton, was work for a colored man.
So on leaving high school he entered Chicago
University. Here, along with other subjects taken
up he took up the embalming. In this sub

ject he did all the work offered by the Univer
sity and on leaving received a diploma in Embalm
ing. Mr. Shelton had as much foresight in choos
ing the place to establish his business, as he had
in choosing the kind of business. And so instead
of returning to his native town to open his shop,
he stayed in Indianapolis. Here colored people
live in large numbers and here he felt sure that he
could get a great deal of the colored undertaking
business. Starting out on a small scale, Mr. Shel
ton has steadily developed his business, putting
back into the business the profits received from it,
till today his is one of the choice business houses
operated by colored people in the city of Indiana
polis. For his work he now uses Auto Hearses
entirely. And because of the good equipment of
his establishment and because of the courtesy with
which all persons are received he gets a very large
share of the work in this line.

Mr. Shelton, while he has in no way neglected
his business, has, nevertheless taken time to serve
his people and his city in other capacities. He has
served as delegate to the last three Republican Na
tional Conventions. This shows the esteem in
which he is held by his people in the matters of
political issue, not only is he a good organizer, but
an orator of ability also. He has for the past twelve
years served as Deputy of the Department of As
sessor of Center Township, Indianapolis. Mr.
Shelton is the Past Grand Chancellor of the Knights
of Pythias for the state of Indiana, and has served
the order as supreme delegate for the past ten
years. He is equally as active, though not in so
prominent a post, in other orders. He is a Mason,
Shriner, an Odd Fellow, a member of the United
Brothers of Friendship, and a prominent member
of the Negro Men's Business League. In all of
these organizations, Mr. Shelton lends his weight
for the betterment of the majority. Not only has
this man loaned his business ability to the develop
ment of secular orders that look for the betterment
of the race, but he gives freely of his means and of
his advice to the church of which he is an active
member. Although a member of the Baptist
church, he helps all the Colored churches.

November 25, 1894, Mr. Shelton was married to
Miss Mamie E. Pettiford, of Franklin, Indiana.
Mrs. Shelton has been of great help in the business
of her husband, helping not only with her advice,
but with actual work, whenever the occasion de
manded this. There is one daughter born to them,
and who is the joy of their life. This is Miss Ze-
ralda Marion Shelton. She attended Fisk Univer
sity, Nashville. Tennessee, and for a time was a
student of music in the Chicago School of Music.
She is now Mrs. Scott, her husband being a sol
dier in Company A, 92 Brigade, now stationed in
France.

156

LOGAN H. STEWART, LL. B.

HE son of Wesley and Victoria
Stewart, Logan H. Stewart, news
boy, reporter, real estate dealer,
was born in Union Town, Ken
tucky, July 22, 1879. Shortly af
ter his birth he was taken to In
diana. When Mr. Stewart was three years old
his father died, leaving the mother and three small
children. When he was ten years old his mother
took him with the other children to Evansville,
where they lived for a time in want, but at least
one son achieved victory over want, and success in
life.

Mr. Stewart began his career in Evansville by
selling papers. He sold the Evansville News, now
the Evansville Journal-News. Here the young man
of fourteen proved his worth. In a short time he
had built up one of the best routes of the city. In
return the Evansville News made him manager of
a district. He was also given the post of reporter
for the colored people, being responsible for all
local news about Negroes.

However, the young man with all this success
was not merely working for the newspaper. He
was also going to school. In 1899 he was graduat
ed from the Latin course in Evansville High School.

157

Having decided to enter business he took a com
mercial course in the High School in 1900.

Mr. Stewart thanks all newspapers for his busi
ness career. He gained his first experience in bus
iness by handling newspapers. Moreover, while
he was attending school, he was able to save three
hundred dollars. In the year of his graduation he
invested a part of this sum in real estate. The ven
ture proved so profitable that he immediately re
solved to enter the business of buying and selling
land and lots.

In this business, Mr. Stewart has been both a pi
oneer and a benefactor in Evansville. Before he
entered the business of real estate, the 10,000 Ne
gro population of Evansville was thought of mere
ly as workers and church goers, not as dealers in
finance. Their realty holdings were less than $10,-

000. They had no bank credit, and woefully little
business recognition. Thus matters stood when
Mr. Stewart opened his office in 1900. By January

1, 1917, the Negroes of Evansville had $500,000
invested in real estate, substantial bank credit, and
a wider general credit and recognition throughout
the city. Mr. Stewart himself, beginning in pov
erty back in 1889, now owns his home, which is
valued at $7,000; one quarter block of stores and
shops in a business section, valued at $15,000; a fac
tory for the manufacture of concrete stone and
building material, worth $3,500; and other real es
tate values amounting to $15,000.

Absorbed in business Mr. Stewart has, however,
missed no opportunity to grow and to serve. While
joining no special church he has worked with the
Methodist in his town and with any denomination
that set out to serve the people. He was one of
the early members of the National Negro Business
League, joining that body in 1905. He was charter
member of the Negro Y. M. C. A. of Evansville and
very instrumental in securing funds for the Negro
Association when it was in its infancy. In 1915 he
organzed Health and Clean-Up Week in Evansville
causing five thousand colored people to clean up
and beautify their homes and surroundings, and
two hundred and thirty-five gardens to be planted.
He was president of the Evansville Negro Busi
ness League for more than ten years and a member
of the Executive Committee of the National Negro
Business League. He is on the Board of Manage
ment of the Negro Y. M. C. A. of Evansville. He
is a member of the Evansville Chamber of Com
merce, the only colored man to have this honor. He
has traveled extensive!}' in the East, in the West,
and in the South. He has spent much time and en
ergy in putting on their feet struggling Negro bus
iness men, who needed recognition at the banks
and instruction in handling business matters. In
honor of his good services to his fellow men and
in appreciation of his continued education, Lin
coln-Jefferson University of Hammond, Ind., con
ferred upon him the degree of Bachelor of Laws,
in 1913.

Mr. Stewart was married on November 30, 1911,
to Miss Sallie L. Wyatt of Evansville. Mrs. Ste
wart was formerly a teacher of Domestic Science in
the Evansville High School.

GEORGE WILLIAM WARD, D. D.

R. George William Ward, pas
tor of the Mount Zion Baptist
Church of Indianapolis, Indiana,
was born in Port Gibson, Mississ
ippi, July 2, 1869. His early days
were spent on the farm, where he
found his first inspiration to labor and wait; where
he learned to dream in big terms and to execute
patiently and persistently. This by the way, this
quiet country life, in a warm and fertile country,
was his first school.

He had two more early schools. He attended the
district schools of Clayborne County, learning from
books what knowledge he and his teacher could dig
out. Neither of them at that time was over adept
at this task, the times being considerably out of
joint, by reason of Reconstruction and general rest
lessness, and by reason of the scarcity and very
limited preparation of the Negro teachers. How
ever, a third means of learning supplemented the
efforts of the struggling young lad and his district
teacher. He was fortunate enough to be thrown
into a private white family, and was given five
years schooling by a white teacher. Here he got
environment, which did in actuality what he had
been taught in books. Hence Dr. Ward learned to

158

speak, to think, to act, by example as well as by
precept.

These three were his preparatory schools, nature,
the district school, the private white family, in the
last named speaking and acting education were a
habit and not a theory. These prepared him for
college. He chose Roger Williams University, of
Nashville, entered Corresponding department The
ology, under Dr. Geurnsey, having already become
a thorough going Baptist. Theology and a higher
literary training completed his studies and he went
forth ready to preach and to work among his peo
ple.

In his pastorates he has been unusually fortunate,
as Baptist pastorates go. He has been pastoring
now for a quarter of a century, and yet he has had
but four charges in all this time. His first two
charges were in Mississippi, at Duncan, Mississip
pi and at Gumunion, Mississippi ; at the latter
named he worked for five years, developing here
the habit of staying at one post long enough to
make his work count. In 1899 he was called to
Chattanooga, Tennessee. I-n Chattanooga he built
the Monumental Baptist Church, and so made for
himself a name in this section of the country, and
alson got in the habit of church building.

From Chattanooga he was called to his
present charge in Indianapolis, Indiana, 1907. Here
he again applied his old practice of getting congre
gations into new and spacious church homes. In
1908 he built the Mount Zion Baptist Church
on Twelfth and Fayette Streets, a handsome brick
structure, modern in all of its appointments and
conveniences.

From building churches and giving his services in
other directions, honors have come to him. He is
a Past Master Mason and a moderator of the Union
Baptist Association of Indiana. State University
at Louisville, Kentucky, has conferred upon him
the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity.

Dr. Ward has evidently made up his mind to set
tle down in the West, or at any rate he is remaining
true to the old habit formed back there in Gumun
ion, Mississippi, of becoming part and parcel of
the place and section he works in. Moreover, as a
minister he feels that he must teach by example as
well as by precept. Therefore he has invested his
savings and his influence in homes and enterprises
in and around Indianapolis. He owns his home on
West Street in Indianapolis and one rent house, and
he is stockholder in the Studebaker Auto Tire Cor
poration of South Bend and in the Irvington Sick
and Accident Insurance Company of Indiana.

Dr. Ward was married at Cartersville, Georgia,
in 1904. Mrs. Ward was formerly Miss Emma
Robinson. What Dr. Ward is by example to the
men of his congregation, Mrs. Ward has in great
measure been to the women. She has been a great
helper in church organization and in church build
ing.

William Henry Ballard

EARED in Kentucky where he
seems to have found the Elixir
of youth as well as business suc
cess, Dr. William H. Ballard,
though approaching close upon
three scole years, carries upon
him no mark of age, either in his actions or in his
mind. To be sure, his profession may be respon
sible for this as he is a pharmacist. Or it may be
the full life of achievement for himself and of help
fulness to others which he has led.

Among the picturesqe scenes of Franklin County,
Kentucky, with its rugged cliffs overhanging the
placid waters of the Kentucky River, was born to
Down and Matilda Ballard, October 31, 1862, a son,
whom they named William Henry. His parents
being industrious and energetic people, and seeing
that a liberal education was essential to success,
moved to Louisville in 1870. Here their son was
placed under a private tutor and remained under
his instruction until the opening of the public
schools in 1873, when he entered the public schools
and continued his course of studies in them. His
progress was rapid ; he took advantage of every
opportunity to improve himself. After seven years
of faithful application to his studies he was gradua
ted from the Louisville High School. His thirst
for knowledge was far from being quenched when
he completed his course in the high school. What
he had attained only whetted his appetite for
greater knowledge, and made him dissatisfied with
the preparation he had received, which was far
above that of many youths. Dr. Ballard entered
Roger Williams University, where he pursued a
special course in science and languages, complet
ing it in 1884. While at Roger Williams Univer
sity, Dr. Ballard began the work of teaching. He,
like many others who were striving to be a credit
to their race and ancestry, taught in the common
school districts of Tennessee and Kentucky during
the summer and pursued his studies at the Univer
sity during the winter.

The next step in the upward progress of Dr. Bal
lard was his election to the principalship of the
Mayfield, Graves County, Kentucky, where he
served with satisfaction for some time. His suc
cess as a teacher is shown by the great number of
ambitious young men and women now employed in
the schools of Southwestern Kentucky, many of
whom were under his immediate charge. This also
shows that the fourteen years spent in the school
room were characterized by conscientious and pain
staking study.

In 1890 he entered Northwestern University at
Chicago, 111., for the purpose of studying phar
macy. He was graduated from this course in 1892
receiving honorable mention. Shortly after gradu
ating from Northwestern University, Dr. Ballard

was married to Miss Bessie H. Brady, one of the
most estimable young women of Nashville, Tenn
essee, a teacher in Meig's High School, a woman
respected and beloved by all who knew her.

He has an interesting family, consisiing of a wife
and four children — three sons and a daughter. Up
on these he bestows his most devoted care and af
fection and seeks their highest good. The chil
dren have listened to the counsel of their father,
and like him are making something of their lives.
William Henry Ballard, Jr., is studying Pharmacy
at Howard University, Washington, D. C. ; Orville
L. Ballard is studying medicine at the same Insti
tution ; Edward H. Ballard is a student in the Lex
ington High School, and Miss Vivian Elizabeth
Ballard is studying in the Chandler Normal School.

Dr. Ballard began business in Lexington, Ken
tucky, February, 1893, opening the first Pharmacy
owned and controlled by Negroes in the State. He
has the confidence of all his acquaintances and has
been highly honored by many fraternal orders to
which he belongs. He is Past Chancellor of the
Knights of Pythias ; ex-State Grand Master of the
United Brothers of Friendship ; Commander in
Chief of Blue Consistory Scottish Rite Masons ; and
has the distinction of being a polished, capable and
conservative business man.

Dr. Ballard is a Methodist in church affiliation,
and is a member of St. Paul African Methodist
Episcopal Church. He is also a Trustee of the St.
Paul A. M. E. Church. His interest in the welfare
of the colored race enlists him in all enterprises
looking to their development. The Colored Agri
cultural and Mechanical Fair Association was or
ganized to encourage the colored citizen to take
more active interest in agriculture and mechanical
pursuits. Dr. Ballard not only connected himself
with this enterprise but served as Assistant Secre
tary, thus giving it the benefit of his organizing
ability.

While he has not visited foreign countries, Dr.
Ballard has seen much of the United States.

Dr. Ballard exemplifies what a man of strong
character and indomitable courage may do. He is
worthy of emulation, not only for what he has
achieved for himself, but for the service he has ren
dered in putting others on their feet. The clerks
who worked in his store have been inspired to
launch out for themselves. Four of the drug stores
of the state are run by men who were one time
clerks in the Ballard Pharmacy. One doctor, Doc
tor White of Owensboro, also served time as clerk
in this same store. Indeed so high is the business
in the esteem of both races that Dr. Ballard has
been for years a member of the State Pharmaceut
ical Association. Thus Dr. Ballard has lived a long
life of usefulness, helping to better all whom he
touched.

The man who makes the most of his opportuni
ties both for fitting himself for a useful life and in
serving others gets the most out of life, and learns
from experience that a life of service is a life of
joy.

"What we are is God's gift to us,

What we make ourselves is our gift to God."

159

THOMAS L. BROOKS.

R. T. L. Brooks, the subject of
this sketch, was born in Char-
lottesville, Albemarle County, Vir
ginia, in 1862, being the fourth
child of Thomas and Mildred
Brooks. His father was a carpen
ter by trade and was employed at the University of
Virginia to help in keeping up the repairs around
the College and it was here that young Brooks
learned the trade of his father.

Commencing at the early age of ten he continued
to work with his father until 1883 when he came
to Frankfort, Ky., secured employment with Rod
man and Sneed, Contractors, and later with Wake-
field & Choate. He remained with the latter firm
eight years serving the last half as Foreman.

On October 18, 1892, he was married to Miss
Mary L. Hocker of Frankfort, Ky., one of the
Public School teachers of Franklin County. From
this union one child was born, which died in infancy.
Both being very fond of children the home has nev
er been without a child, having adopted one daugh
ter who remained with them until her marriage and
at present they are rearing two of his Sister's child
ren.

In the same year Mr. Brooks decided to go into

160

the contracting business for himself. Although he
has contracted and built throughout Eastern Ken
tucky, it has been in Frankfort that he has made
his chief mark. Some of the most beautiful and
costly edifices erected all over the Capitol City and
wth values ranging in the thousands are the pro
duct of his brain and skill. It can be truthfully
stated that fully ninety percent of his work has
been for white people and against the sharp oppo
sition of white competitors. Over one-half of the
residences of the celebrated "Watson Court" — the
most exclusive and handsome section (white) of
Frankfort was built by him. The Columbia Thea
tre, a $15,000 structure and the leading and
most attractive moving picture theatre of the city
is also his work.

The Auditorium and the Trades Buildings of the
Kentucky Normal & Industrial Institute which
were erecter at a cost of thirty thousand dollars
were also contracted for and built by him and it is
an object of pride that both these handsome stone
buildings were built exclusively by Negro labor.
The ten thousand-dollar Colored Odd Fellows build
ing and the twenty-five thousand-dollar Colored
Baptist Church were also erected under his imme
diate supervision.

Mr. Brooks has a high standing among the banks
and business men of Frankfort and has accumu
lated much valuable property, and his word is ac
cepted as readily as most men's bond. He is held
in the very highest esteem by both races, and is
one of the most popular men in the Capitol City.
He also takes high rank as a Churchman, being one
of the most widely known Baptist laymen in Ken
tucky. He has been a Sunday School Superintend
ent for twenty years, a Trustee for sixteen years,
Deacon for six years and was Church Clerk for ov
er four years.

He is also a prominent Secret Society man, hav
ing been Secretary of the Capitol City Lodge of
Odd Fellows for twenty-seven years, frequently
a delegate to the B. M. C. and has served his state
as Secretary-Treasurer of the Insurance Bureau
and State Grand Master, at present being State
Grand Treasurer. He was the pioneer of the Ne
gro Fraternal Insurance in Kentucky Grand Lodge
of Odd Fellows over twenty-six years ago. He also
holds high official positions in the Masons, Knights
of Pythias and the United Brothers of Frendship.
At this time he holds position as Secretary of Meri
dian Sun Lodge which he has held for sixteen years.
He is Past Grand Chancellor and Treasurer of the
Knights of Pythias which office he has held for
twelve years and has held the office of Secretary of
Charity Lodge, United Brothers of Friendship for
five years and is also a member of the Union Benev
olent Society and of the Mosaic Templars of Amer
ica.

Mr. Brooks is of an affable temperament, up
right life and a high Christian character with an in
tense interest in the welfare and advancement of
his people.

JOHN BKNJAMIN COOPER.

OHN Benjamin Cooper, Funeral
Director, Embalmer, a business
man of many interests, and a
member of all the secret orders
of his state, was born in Mobile,
Alabama, in April, 1872. He is
the son of Benjamin and Elizabeth Aga Cooper.
In early childhood he was possessed of an am
bition to make something of his life and follow
ing his career from childhood to man's estate it
will be seen that he kept his eye upon his goal and
followed his course unwaveringly. He received
his early education in the public schools of Mobile
and in the Emerson Institute, and A. M. E. School,
alsb of Mobile.

With this foundation, Mr. Cooper left Mobile
and continued his education in Cincinnati, Ohio,
where he entered the City High School. Finishing
his course here he felt himself sufficiently equipped
for a business career, but like numerous other
young men he found it necessary to earn some
money before branching out for himself.

With this aim in view he entered the service of
the Pullman Company and was soon rated among
their best employees. While in the employ of the

161

Pullman Company he carne to a decision as to the
character of business he would embark in and en
tered the Barnes School of Embalming in Chicago
to study the Undertaking business. Completing
his studies here he went to Louisville in 1907 and
took charge of the Watson and Est which he now
owns and controls, conducting a very successful
business.

However, the business of funeral director ap
pears to be but a convenient peg upon which Mr.
Cooper hangs an excuse for being in business.
From this, to change the figure, he radiates into
every sort of Negro enterprise national or local,
that one finds on the calendar. One wonders where
he finds time and thought for it all. He is a mem
ber of the National Negro Business League, a
member of the Kentucky Funeral Directors' As
sociation, and of the Falls-Cities Undertaking As
sociation. In each of these he is a live member,
keeping track of the workings of the organiza
tions and keeping abreast of and bringing before
these bodies all the latest inventions and devices
in handling and embalming the dead.

In business he is director of the Falls City Realty
Company of Louisville, a director of the Louis
ville Cemetery Association and Treasurer of the
Colored Funeral Directors' Association of Louis
ville.

These obligations together with the demands of
a large business would seem to be more than the
average mortal could bear, but Mr. Cooper is equal
to the task and does his work well. But Mr. Cooper
is especially more than the average mortal. He
has united himself with fully a score or more other
organizations, all of which require time, thought,
and in many instances, a good deal of study and
travel. He is a member of the Methodist Church
and is a Republican in politics. He is a Mason,
having reached the thirty-second degree. He is a
member of the Odd Fellows, of the Pythians, of
the United Brothers of Friendship, of the Sons
and Daughters of Moses, of Cooper's Union,
of the Son's and Daughters of M o r n i ng , of
the Brilliant Comet Tabernacle, Sisters and Broth
ers of Friendship, Maces Lodge, Union Star Lodge,
Lampton Street Aid Society, Grand Star Court,
and active member of Y. M. C. A. In none of these
is he merely a member but is active in all the mat
ters of business transactions and in all that per
tains to disposing of and handling the dead mem
bers of these orders.

Mr. Cooper was married to Mrs. Lavinia Brady
Watson of Louisville, August 19th. 1907. Mr. and
Mrs. Cooper live in their own home on West
Chestnut Street, and are both looked upon as lead
ers in social uplift work, as well as in business and
in secret orders.

THOMAS MADISON DORAM, M. D. V.

HE Negro has yet in any consider
able numbers to make his way in
to the field of Veterinary practice.
For this there appears to be sev
eral causes. In many cases the
calling appears not to have been
attractive. Again to practice it, has been rather ex
pensive ; and finally many of the Veterinary schools
have been hard for the black man to enter and still
harder for him to leave — with a diploma.

Thus it is that Dr. T. M. Doram, M. D. V., of
Danville, Kentucky, will have an added attraction
for the average reader beyond that of mere per
sonal achievement. Dr. Doram is on record as the
first and only Negro in the state of Kentucky to re
ceive a diploma from a Veterinary College and one
of the first two colored men in the United States
to win such a diploma at all.

Dr. Doram was born in Danville, Ky., in 1871." He
comes of a hardy stock of farmers and tradesmen,
who loved to handle animals and wield tools. Dr.
Doram's father, though a Carpenter by trade, own
ed valuable land and kept good horses. It was here
that the young man discovered and cultivated fur
ther his love for the horse. It is a Kentucky in

stinct to love a good horse and from this state has
come some of the best blooded stock of the world.
Young Doram was born and bread in the Kentucky
atmosphere and it only needed that he should be
brought into a personal contact with the horse to
develop a strong attachment for this noble animal.
While attending public schood at Danville, and
during vacation, the young man worked with his
father at the trade of carpentry. Finishing the pub
lic school, Dr. Doram entered the Eckstein Norton
University at Cane Springs, Ky., the institution re
ferred to in the story of Dr. C. H. Parrish in this
volume. It was here, that the young man had his
skill acquired at carpentry under his father stand
him in good stead. During his course here, one of
the University buildings burned. Young Doram
now turned to and lent great aid in rebuilding the
University.

in 1896 he matriculated in the McKillip Veter
inary College at Chicago, 111. As a matter of course
the rest of the students were white, but to show
what one can do with an opportunity, at the close
of the first year, Doram led his class in Materia
Medica ; the second year he was at the head of his
class in Pharmacy, and during his last or senior
year he was appointed senior assistant instructor
in Pharmacology of his class, an honor of which
he may be justly proud.

After graduating, in 1899, he opened an office in
Evanston, Illinois, a beautiful suburb of Chicago,
with a population of thirty thousand, where he
commenced the practice of his profession.

While his practice here was successful and grow
ing, numbering among his patrons many of the
wealthy people of that aristocratic community, he
gave it up after three years residence there and
moved to his old home in Danville, Kentucky.
His practice has continuously grown and Dr.
Doram is now fully satisfied that he made no mis
take when he entered the Veterinary profession.

In October of same year, at Danville, Kentucky,
he was married to Miss Bertha James Hancock, a
native of Austin. Texas. She received her educa
tion at Mary Allen Seminary, Crockett, Tex. They
are now the parents v>f eight children, three girls
and five boys. Dr. Doram very much hopes that
at least one or more of his boys may be inspired
to take up the profession of Veterinary Medicine
and Surgery, as well as many other young men of
his race; for he is confident that many could suc
ceed in many parts of the country. Notwithstand
ing that we are in the day of the Automobile, and
that so many of them are in use. Dr. Doram is
thoroughly convinced that the horse is not a back
issue and that this noble animal will always be
in demand, which will call for expert men of his
profession.

162

S. H. GEORGE, M. D.

H 1C story of the small boy left
alone, either by desertion of his
relatives, by robbery or by the
death of his parents used to be a
favorite subject of the writers of
fiction. The subject was one that
always elicited eager perusal and often sobs. Then,
however, the matter was very remote. No one
thought of such a thing as happening in real life.
I he rise of modern biography and autobiography.
the willingness of our great men to talk about
themselves in magazine articles and to be inter
viewed by the reporters, have turned the light on
quite a different aspect of the growth of our youths
into manhood. No longer is this matter of priva
tion, of sleeping out in the open, of tattered clothes
and blistered feet a fiction. It is all a very every
day reality. Booker T. Washington, Jacob Kiis,
Henry W. Grady, with the numberless capitalists
who have risen from hunger to opulence, have
made early hardships a sort of premium in the life
of the American. So much is this so that it is
counted a sort of blessing to start off handicapped
with hunger, lack of antecedents and with nobody
to appeal to but your own strong arms.

Such was the early beginning of Dr. S. H. George

of Paducah, Kentucky. Dr. George lays no partic
ular claim to distinction, is rather stingy with the
data of his boyhood and early life, indeed is rather
inclined to withdraw within his shell when he is
pressed for the story of his career. Yet the distinc-
ton of his career lies in a most desirable direction.
Jt is this: It is all normal. It is just what the
average boy with pluck and hard work could do.
The story of Douglass or Washington might be dis
heartening to some ; because those men seemed
to accomplish so very much out of so little. That
of Dr. George comes quite within the reach of us
all.

Dr. George was born in Kentucky. His mother
having died when he was three years old, the lad
soon found it necessary to go forth and earn a pen
ny wherever he could. He attended the public
schools of his native state, whenever he could af-
ord to do so. The farm, the restaurant, the rail
road all held out chances for him to earn his way.
Many of these opportunities he embraced, now
dropping out of school, now returning, when he
had earned enough to sustain him for a whole or
part of a term. When he had been sufficiently-
trained to do school work, he became a teacher, and
for seven years labored in the school room. With
school teaching and other work he finally became
able to push his education to the desired end. He
entered Walden University in Nashville, Tennessee,
and after a good long struggle was graduated.
Daunting nothing because of the cost of the col
lege course he next registered in the Meharry Med
ical College. Again he had to fight a lone battle,
having few to whom he could look in the time of
need. p:xpenses here were higher, the hours of
work were much longer, because of experiments,
lectures and outside reading. Yet Dr. George was
not to be halted. A doctor he wanted to be and a
doctor he became ; and he used only those means
which any aspiring youth with good strong arms
and lusty will can use to attain the goal.

Completing his course in Meharry Medical Col
lege, he returned to his native state and began to
practice. In a few years he felt more than rewarded
for all the hardships he had suffered ; for he had
hung out his sign at Paducah, had made many
friends and had built up a very sucessful practice.
He joined forces with all the progressive organiza
tions of his state and community. He allied himself
with the church and with many of the secret so
cieties of Kentucky. He is a Mason, an Odd Fel
low, a Pythian, and a member of the Court of
Calanthe. As a professional man and a leader Dr.
George felt that he must both teach and show the
people of his section the ideal way to live. He,
therefore, joined the several business organiza
tions. He joined the Pythian Mutual Industrial
Association of the State and soon became its Vice-
President. In a little while the leading Negroes of
Kentucky saw a wider need for reliable insurance
for colored people. They founded the Mamouth
Life and Accident Insurance Company. Dr. George
was one of these founders and promoters, and has
been one of the staunch supporters of the company.
'Dr. George was married to Miss Nettie N. Mc-
Claine. Dr. George owns his home in Paducah.

163

JAMES H. HATHAWAY.

ENTUCKY has long taken a lead
ing place as a prosperous state.
She has made a happy adjustment
of the so-called race question, by
giving all her citizens a fair meas-
sure of privileges, yet holding to
the social restriction. Apparently this is all her
darker sons have wanted, indeed all that black folk
want any where. The Kentucky men of color have
gone far beyond their brothers in farming, in busi
ness and in many instances in education. Thus her
sons, like the one here mentioned, have an open
road to essay their talents.

Among the big business men in Louisville." Ken
tucky. James H. Hathaway looms large and impor-
ant. He is not only a business success in one direc
tion, but in several. Indeed Mr. Hathaway appears
to have acquired the Midas' touch ; only unlike the
king of old, Mr. Hathaway worked for his touch in
stead of gaining it through any special favor of the
Gods.

Of the business he has developed, Mr. Hathaway
can hardly tell which, had he to make a choice, he
would select above all the rest. He tried his hand
at running a grocery. He succeeded at that. He
tried Undertaking, and again he was a success. He

essayed farming, both tilling the soil and raising
stock ; again he received abundant yield. He put
his hands to the transfer business and once more
the gods of fortune smiled upon him.

Born in Montgomery, Kentucky, Mr. Hathaway
did not spend much time in gaining an education.
He is educated, but his is an education of things ;
an education from intimate contact and combat,
rather than the brand gained from schools and
books. He began his business experiences in
Mount Stirling, Kentucky, where he set up and
ran for a good many years a grocery store.

Selling out his grocery, he made his way to Lou
isville, Kentucky, and secured a wagon or two and
started in the transfer business. Thus for fourteen
years he plied his trade and continually increased
and multiplied. When Mr. Hathaway entered
business, there was a transfer firm in Louisville,
known as Smith and Nixon. Seeing the business
acumen and dispatch of their colored rival, they
sold him their wagons arid horses for a mere song
and got him to handle their business by contract.

In 1902, Mr. Hathaway saw an opportunity to buy
an Undertaking business. He secured this and is
now one of Louisville's most successful colored
Undertakers.

As he increased his income from transfer work
and from Undertaking, Mr- Hathaway looked out
upon the farmers and saw what a happy invest
ment could be made in farms and in stock raising,
especially in Kentucky, where the grass is luxuriant
and the temperature is congenial to raising nearly
every breed of useful animals. Thus he has an
nexed to his holdings a 118 acre farm, which is now
well stocked with thorough-bred horses, sheep,
hogs, and cattle. After entering the transfer bus
iness it was an easy glide into the other branches
of business he took on. As a transfer men his ve
hicles was called into constant demand for funeral
occasions and this brought to his attention the un
dertaker's business. It did not take him long to
see that this business and the transfer business
could be worked together and with the large stock
of horses such a business demanded it was easy
for him to determine that farming would be a val
uable adjunct to his business. So the three work
ed together to his profit. Mr. Hathaway 's other
property holdings are his own house and the build
ing in which he runs his undertaking business.

He divides his energies between his family and
his business. Other than his membership in the
Christian church, he has few affiliations. He was
married in 1892 to Miss Columbia Gray of Louis
ville, Ky. There are six children in the Hathaway
family : Miss Ethel Louise, a graduate of the
Louisville High School, is her father's secretary.
James Harris, Warner Mason, Columbia S. and
Ruth are still of school age.

164

ROBERT HORACE HOGAN.

HE words of the song, "Inch by
Inch" find apt significance in the
life of Mr. Robert H. Hogan, con
tractor and builder, of Lexington,
Kentucky. Mr. Hogan was born
on a farm near Macon, Ga., Feb.
12, 1881. The Hogans were a very large family who
lived the earlier years of their history in the coun
try, but who later moved into Macon. Mr. Hogan
was born on the farm near Macon before the fam
ily had migrated to the city.

Born of a large family the young man had no
time for school, but had to earn money to aid in
supporting the family. One of his first jobs was
that of elevator boy in the Wesleyan Female Col
lege at Macon, Georgia. As good fortune would
have it, the president's wife, Mrs. John D. Ham
mond, passed up and down on that elevator. She
saw that young Hogan had no learning and set out
to teach him. Mrs. Hammond not only taught him
herself but made arrangement for several of the
teachers to give him help. She went furtner. She
wrote Dr. Washington about the boy and later had
him enter Tuskegee Institute.

While Mr. Hogan liked Tuskegee well enough,

the call of the large family once more threw him
out into the world. He worked a while in Macon,
Ga., then in Jacksonville, Florida, as a Government
brick-layer. In the meantime he was doing private
studying with the International Correspondence
school. For five years he worked about in Florida,
Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee as a brick-layer,
studying and working at the same time. In 1905,
leaving Alabama, where he had been assisting in
the building of a steel mill, he went to Lexington,
Kentucky, and accepted work as foreman for H. A.
Tandy, an old and successful contractor of that
city. By this time his studies began to bear fruit.
On completing his studies with the International
Correspondence School, he was offered a position
with the Combs Lumber Company, as superintend
ent of their brick construction work. This was
one of the largest firms of the kind in the state
and gave Mr. Hogan opportunity to app.y his the
ories, to learn new ones, and to practice on big
undertakings. For the past seven years he has
superintended the construction of all the largest
buildings of Lexington. Continuing to study in
private, and now having completed a course in
Building Superintendence, Contracting and Estim
ating, with the American School of Correspondence,
Mr. Hogan thought it was time for him to launch
into business for himself. This step he took, Jan.
1, 1916. Since that time he has built a mansion for
C. B. Shafer, which cost $40,000; constructed the
brick work in the Physicians' Office Building at a
cost of $20,000; put up the Bamby Flat for $10,-
000 and erected and superintended many residences
and smaller buildings and including his own two-
story brick residence. At present he is doing the
brick work on the new Senior High School Build
ing, a $60,000 building.

One feature in connection with Mr. Hogan's new
line of work is that upon the guarantee to Combs
Lumber Co. that he would take care of a certain
amount of their work as well as the fact that he
has an excellent standing with them, he has been
able to secure financial backing from that strong
company.

Mr. Hogan in all his rush of study and work has
maintained his connection with the church and
many other bodies. He is a member of the First
Baptist Church of his city, chairman of the Board
of Deacons and Superintendent of the Sunday
School. In Lodge affiliation he is a Mason of the
32nd degree.

Mr. Hogan was married in 1903 to Miss Letetia
Hunter Jones of Macon, Ga. Of the three child
ren born in the household, two are living. Robert
H., Jr., died in infancy. Horace Wesley, 10 years
of age, is in the sixth grade of the public school;
Marion Letetia is five years old.

165

MARSHALL BELL LANIER, A. B., B. I).

EVEREND Lanier was born in
North Carolina, at Mocksville, in
1869. He first attended the pub
lic schools of Salem, North Car
olina, but did not remain there a
great while, but went to Wash
ington, D. C., where he enrolled in Wayland Semi
nary. Here he studied for two years, when he
made another change. He had become deeply im
pressed that he was called to preach and with a
view of preparing himself for his ministerial work
he left Wayland and entered the Lincoln Univer
sity, located near Philadelphia. He was then a
young man, barely eighteen years of age, but very
ambitious.

He graduated from the Lincoln University in
1892, and received from that Institution his degree
of Bachelor of Arts. Wishing to specialize further
in Theological studies he took a course in Western
Theological Seminary, in Fittsburg, Penn., and
was graduated as Bachelor of Divinity in 1896.
This was the eventful year in the life of Reverend
Lanier, for he not only completed his studies and
received his degree, but it was the year in which
he was ordained to the ininistrv and installed in his

first pastorate. His first pastorate was that of
Grace church, Pittsburg, Penn. He was soon re
garded as an eloquent preacher and a sound theolo
gian and his progress in his new field of labor was
rapid.

His reputation as a preacher soon spread and be
fore he had served his church very long he rceived
a call to be the Dean of the Theological Depart
ment of the State University. At the same time
he was called to be Dean of the University at
Louisville, Kentucky. He accepted the latter call
and for eight years has served the institution. The
holding of this office has not prevented him from
continuing his work as a minister. He has not ne
glected his duties in connection with the Univer
sity, but has at the same time acceptably served
the following churches as Pastor : First Baptist
Church of Irvington, Kentucky, and the Corin
thian Baptist Church, of Frankfort, Kentucky. He
is still the Pastor of the latter church.

Reverend Lanier is especially interested in
young men and boys and never tires in working in
their interest. He sees in them great possibilities
for the advancement of the race, and is exceeding
ly ambitious to place before them high ideas of life.
Along with his duties as Pastor and Dean, he is
trustee of the Home for Colored boys. This office
gives him a fine opportunity to get in close touch
with the boys and lead them to improve their
minds and hearts.

While a minister, he does not forget his duties
to his country and State, and in politics he very
naturally sides with the Republicans. He is also
a member of .he Masonic fraternity and makes his
personality felt in that order.

He was married in 1901, to Miss Maud E. Bryce,
of Pittsburg, Penn., in whose companionship he
finds great delight. They live in their own home
on West Chestnut Street, in Louisville, Kentucky.
Reviewing the life and work of Reverend Lanier
it is probable that in no other way could he have
served his people better than in the manner chosen
by him. First his years of preparation gave him
a fund of information which not only fitted him for
his work, but enabled him to scatter with a lavish
hand to the youth growing up about him.

As Dean of the Theological Department of the
State University at Louisville, Kentucky, he has
had the privilege of touching with his life a large
number of young men who are preparing to enter
the ministry. He has impressed them with his
high ideals and has sent them forth to influence
other lives in like manner.

All over the State of Kentucky, you will find
men, young and old, who have been helped to a
better life because at some point, the life of Rev
erend Lanier touched their's.

166

JOHN A. C. LATTIMORE, M. D.

i

O man is a hero to his valet, some
one has said. This was not the
case with Dr. John A. C. Latti-
more, of Louisville, Kentucky.
Dr. Lattimore was not a valet, but
he fulfilled the real spirit of the
saying in that he was very close to the man who
influenced him to enter the medical profession.
Dr. Lattimore when a lad was a buggy boy for
a physician, Dr. Bullock of Greensboro, North
Carolina. He was a very observant boy and was
quick to note, as he went with the Doctor in
making his daily calls, the cordial greeting he re
ceived and the high esteem in which he was held.
He also made a note of the handsome income
which came from a large practice. Thus uncon
sciously. Dr. Bullock influenced his buggy boy to
become a physician. Seeing the interest magni
fied by his buggy boy in bis work the good Doctor
suggested to him that he study medicine, a sug
gestion which he was quick to adopt. I laving
formed the purpose he held to bis course until
be received his diploma and hung out bis shingle.
Dr. Lattimore was born in Lawndale, North Car
olina, where be received his early training in the

Lawndale Public Schools. After passing through
the public schools he entered Bennett College,
Greensboro, North Carolina, and was graduated
from this Institution in the fall of 1897. His next
enrollment was in Meharry Medical College in
Nashville, Tennessee, from which institution he
received his doctors degree and the same year,
1901, be began practicing in Louisville, Kentucky.

The goal was a magnet to draw him through
meshes of difficulties before the end was obtained.

However, his way through school was not one
fraction so easy as it is to relate. The young med
ical student was far from rich and had to toil at
many things to defray his expenses. In vacation
time, like many other students, he worked in the
hotels of Atlantic City, N. J., and New York as bell
boy and waiter. Throughout Dr. Lattimore's life
of hardship as a student be remembers with great
tenderness the kindness of the president of Ben
nett College, who took the young man into his
home and cared for him as a father would do for
his son. This side of his training brought into the
life of the young man a new phase, that side which
neither the text-books nor the laboratory can dis
cover; that is, the spirit of helpfulness. This, Dr.
Lattimore exercises in his relation to the individual,
but more so in his public spirited attitude toward
life and needs in his community. He is always
willing and eager to lend a band to any progressive
enterprise of his city or state. With money, with
counsel or with time, he has helped all movements
for the betterment of his race in his city, state, or
country. He is found holding many responsible po
sitions of his city : A member of the executive board
of National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People, an ex-member of the board of man
agers of the Y. M. C. A., a trustee of his church.
He is a member of the K. of P., of the Masons, of
the. U. B. F. and of the Court of Calanthe. He is
ex-Grand Medical Register of the Knights of Py
thias of the state, a postion which he held until he
resigned to become Treasurer of the Pythian Mu
tual Industrial Association of Grand Lodge of the
State, a position he holds until today. In all these
bodies he is looked upon as a wise leader, a gen
erous helper, and a man with initiative. He also
belongs to all the leading Natonal organizations
of his race : the National Medical Association, and
National Negro Business League, etc. Dr. Latti
more is a member of the African Methodist Epis
copal Church.

Dr. Lattimore has been fairly successful finan
cially. He owns a beautiful home and ether prop
erty to the value of ten thousand dollars. He is
also interested in several business enterprises in
Louisville.

167

ALBERT ERNEST MEYZEEK, A. M.

ROFESSOR Albert E. Meyzeek,
Principal of the Normal and East
ern School of Louisville, Ken
tucky, is the proverbial human
dynamo in the school teaching
world of Louisville. He was once
pictured as one who is first to fight for the rights of
his fellow countrymen. Serious to the point of se
verity, business like to a fault, a friend to be sought
after, a foe to be feared, a champion for the rights
of the black man, but with all a jolly good fellow.
In business life a mighty factor in the struggle to
mould the characters of our future men and women
in the private life, a model husband, a property
owner and a Christian gentleman.

The original of the above drawn picture was born
in Toledo, Ohio. Completing the course in the pub
lic schools of his native city, he pursued further
study in Terre Haute, Indiana. Finishing in Terre
Haute, having planned definitely to make school
teaching his life work, he entered Indiana State
Normal College and later studied at the state Uni
versity. Ready now for the business of life, he
went to Louisville, Kentucky, and began to work

•> ' cJ

in his chosen field.

Inch by inch he rose in the scale as a school
teacher, becoming prim ipal of the Grammar, then
of the Normal and Eastern Schools of Louisville
and then of the Kentucky State Normal and In
dustrial School.

In his school work, Prof. Meyzeek always leaned
towards the practical, the useful. He put discipline
and order into the Eastern schools of Louisville,
because he looked upon discipline as a fundamental
item in education. He established courses in domes
tic science even when the city could not provide
funds for it, because he felt that such was needed
in the every day lives of his pupils. He organized
clubs for parents because he saw a means of bring-
nig parent and child to a better understanding with
each other and both in a relation to the school. He
established the Normal training school on a busi
ness basis, employing teachers specially trained to
teach teachers, and he organized his courses so that
those who studied the theory could later secure
the practice.

To him was intrusted the establishment of the
Normal courses and the organization and equip
ment of same was left entirely to his discretion
and supervision. Students are appointed to posi
tions in the public schools according to a list fur
nished by him and clone upon merit and no influ
ence can change the plan adopted by him.

Thoroughly alive in all the details of school work.
Professor Meyzeek nevertheless connected his
school life with the life of a citizen. Noticing that
the advertisements in the papers stated "white pre
ferred" in asking for cooks, he opened courses for
domestic science that he might improve the effi
ciency of the colored cooks already in service. He
entered the campaign for a new Y. M. C. A., was
the means of securing a pledge of $6,500 from the
white citizens. He entered in the fight against the
separate street car law in Louisville and broke the
back of that measure. He fought the Louisville
Segregation ordinance tooth and nail, pointing out
that the white people drove the best colored people
out of colored sections of the city by planting there
the white "palaces of sin."

It is no wonder that the Kentucky people loved
Prof. Meyzeek and that various organizations hon
or him. For more than seventeen years he has been
a member of the Y. M. C. A. board of directors and
for ten years, president. The state University re
cently honored him with the degree of Master of
Arts. He is a pioneer Juvenile Court worker, a
promoter of libraries and an all round citizen of
whom Louisville is exceedingly proud.

Prof. Meyzeek owns his own home and three
rent houses in Terre Haute. In 1896 Prof. Mey
zeek was married to Miss Pearl Hill, who was a
teacher in the Louisville Public School.

168

ROBERT MITCHELL, A. M., D. D.

EW big undertakings have occur
red among the Negroes of Ken
tucky, or indeed among the color
ed people of the Nation during the
past quarter of a century without
enlisting the services of Reverend
Robert Mitchell, A. M. D. D. of Lexington, Ken
tucky. He has been in constant demand on the lec
ture platform, at Chautauquas, at temperance gath
erings and at revivals. In his denomination and
out he has worked incessantly. For two years he
was president of the Kentucky State Teachers Asr
sociation. For four years he was moderator of the
General Association of Kentucky Baptists. He was
for fourteen years Auditor of the National Baptist
Convention and is now its vice president. For
twenty-five years he has been a Trustee of State
University at Louisville and still holds his place
there. He was a member of the committee which
appeared before the state legislature in 1891against
the separate car law. Reverend Mitchell was chos
en by his committee to address the legislature of
Kentucky on that occasion. Two years later in
1893, he was a member of the committee from the
National Baptist Convention to appear before

169

President Cleveland on matters pertaining to the
Negro race.

In spite of all these extra duties, Dr. Mitchell has
been a constant and hard worker at a special post.
He was born in Fulton County, Kentucky, March
1, 1864. When a mere infant he was taken to Mis
sissippi where he attended the public schools and
studied also in private schools. From Mississippi he
attended the State University in Kentucky, where
he gained the degree of Master of Arts. From
Louisville he entered Gaudaloupe, Seguin, Texas,
where he won the degree of D. D. He is one of
the many to get his education by waiting on the
tables mornings and evenings. He preached in odd
times when he could get a hearing.

Finishing his course he immediately entered the
ministry. His first charge was at Paducah, Ky.,
over the Seventh Street Baptist Church. Here he
was pastor four years. From Paducah he went to
Bowling Green, where he served eighteen years,
two periods of nine years each. He was pastor of
the Main Street Baptist Church, Lexington, for two
years : of the First Baptist church of Frankfort five
and a half years; of the First Baptist church of
Kansas City, Kansas, three years and of the First
Baptist Church of Lexington, his present charge,
two years. He was president of Simmons Memor
ial College at Bowling Green for eight years. He
has built one church, completed and paid for the
State Street Baptist Church of Bowling Green at a
cost of $7,500, purchased and paid for the present
site of the First Baptist Church of Frankfort at a
cost of more than five thousand dollars.

While he has given himself untiringly to the de
velopment of his work among his churches, he has
not been altogether unmindful of his obligations
to his family and has accumulated a property, per
sonal and real, valued at eight or ten thousand dol
lars.

Dr. Mitchell was married in 1885 to Miss Virginia
Leech of Paducah. One daughter, Miss Emma B.
Mitchell has been their only child. She died in
1911. She was a young woman of rare attainments,
having been graduated from the Frankfort High
School and from the Kansas City High School and
having done special work in both Chicago Univer
sity and Miami University.

Dr. Mitchell was appointed also by the National
Baptist Convention as a member of the delegation
to the World's Baptist Alliance, that convened in
London, England, July 1905, but owing to pressing
home obligations it was not possible for him to at
tend.

He is a splendid specimen of what honesty,
sturdy pluck, and persistency will do for one, al
though born and reared under unfavorable circum
stances.

REVEREND JAMES JODY McCUTCHEN.

N November 9th, 1868, in Logan
County, Kentucky, was born Rev
erend James J. McCutchen, of
Lexington, Kentucky, who began
his career in public by winning
honors, and throughout his long
and serviceable career he has continued to carry
laurels won on fields of labor. Attending the pub
lic schools of his native county he was awarded the
gold medal for excellence in scholarship and was
Valedictorian of his class, in 1891, at Simmons Me
morial College, Bowling Green, Kentucky.

His habit of study acquired in Logan County led
him into several institutions and into courses, of
study in various ways. — He took a post graduate
correspondence course in the scientific studies from
Danville, New York ; gained an honorary degree
from Eckstein Norton Institute at Cane Spring,
Kentucky, finished a teacher's training course with
the American Baptist Publication Society, and com
pleted a course of study in stenography.

The early age at which he finished his education
al courses gives evidence of an ususually vigorous
mind, which his after career enlarged and develop
ed. These courses he finished at the early age of

sixteen and for some years thereafter he taught
school. He taught nine years in Logan County,
where he was born, and two years in Bowling
Green Kentucky. From Bowling Green he enter
ed the Theological College of Glascow, Kentucky,
where he served as Principal for one year.

Rev. McCutchen is a Missionary Baptist and
was ordained to the ministry of that church in the
year 1893. He took up his work as a minister at
once after his ordination and found his first field
of labor in the pastorate of the Bristow Baptist
Church, of Bristow, Kentucky. Here he labored
for one year, but gave up the work for a larger
field, to which he was called. From 1905 to 1913,
he served as State Missionary for the Western dis
trict of Kentucky, in which capacity he rendered
his denomination a great service. The National
Baptist Home Mission Board and the Southern
Baptist Board co-operated with the State Board in
this work.

He built the church at Daniel Boone, Kentucky ;
remodeled the church at Adairville, Ky., remodeled
the church at Townsends Grove, Ky., built the
church at Auburn, Ky., and two school houses in
Logan County. He also assisted in establishing
the "Baptist Voice," a Baptist paper which is pub
lished at Princeton, Ky., and is at present the offi
cial organ of the Baptists of Western Kentucky.

His good work was of a character to stand, for
he built upon a good foundation

When he accepted the Main Street Baptist
Church, Lexington, Kentucky., that body was heav
ily in debt and much discouraged, and there was
a great falling off in membership.

Reverend McCutchen in less than two years rais
ed over nine thousand dollars ($9,000), re-united the
forces of the church, lifted the mortgage, put in
a two thousand dollar ($2,000) pipe organ, put in
modern equipment and appliances, and added 275
members, which gave the church a total member
ship of 1200. In his career as minister, he has bap
tized some 1400 souls.

The great denomination to which he belongs re
cognized his ability as a leader and has placed him
in many positions of honor and responsibility. He
is First Assistant Moderator for the State, and
holds the position of Secretary of the Minister's
and Deacons' meeting of Lexington and vicinity.
Reverend McCutchen has been twice married ;
the first time to Miss Katy Morrow, of Mortimer,
Kentucky, in 1892. She died in 1897, leaving a son,
Walter L., who died at the age of sixteen, having
graduated from the preparatory department of M.
and F. College, Hopkinsville, Ky. The second Mrs.
McCutchen was Mrs. Lucy Morse, of Mayfield,
Kentucky. They were married at Mayfield in 1900.

170

REVEREND ELMORE THEVALL OFFUTT.

MONG the Baptist of Kentucky,
Reverend Elmore Thevall Offutt,
Lexington, Kentucky, is one of
the peers. His preparation has
been ample and thorough: his
knowledge or education from con
tact and experience has been fully as broad and in
timate as his studies in books.

lie is out and out a Kentuckian. He was born
in Logan County March 17th, 1871. For several
years he attended common school but because of a
lack of finance he was forced to stop school and to
"remain on the farm where he worked in the tobac-
to fields to aid in the support of the family. At the
age of eighteen by the consent of his father he went
to Louisville to find work with the idea of finish
ing his education. It was there In- learned the
tanner's trade, working during the day and study
ing at night. At noon hours or whenever oppor
tunity permitted he used the blacked side of a tan
ned cow hide as a substitute for a black board upon
which he solved problems in mathematics and dia
gramed sentences which he had not been able to
solve the preceding- night.

He was married in Louisville in 1893 to Miss |o-

171

anna Kemble, whose faithful cooperation and Chris
tian life has made his success possible. There are
nine children in the Offutt family: Miss Elnora B.
who is teaching in the public school, Elmore T. Jr.,
Harriett, James Arthur, Olivia, Queenie, Garland
and William, who are students and pupils in school
and Joanna Kimble Offutt who is yet a baby.

He was converted and baptized into the fellow
ship of the Portland Baptist Church in 1894 and
was ordained to the gospel ministry in 1896. In
connection with his school work he has sucessfully
pastored the following churches each of which
protested his resignation: Harrods Creek, Jeffer
son County; Elk Creek, Spencer County; Indiana
Ave. Baptist Church, Jeffersonville, Ind. ; La
Grange, Oldham County, Ky. ; Eminence, Henry
County; Portland Baptist Church, Louisville, which
he resigned to accept his present charge, the Pleas
ant Green Baptist Church, Lexington, Ky. He has
recently written a short history of this church
which is of great value to those who are interested
in the early history of Baptists in this country. This
is the oldest Colored Baptist church west of the Al-
leghanies and one of the oldest in the United States.
It was organized in 1790, has a membership of
twelve hundred and a property valuation of thirty
thousand dollars. The prosperity of the church
was never greater than at present.

Jn 1901, he entered State University, Louisville,
an opportunity he recognized as answer to prayer.
Here, he was not long in making his presence felt,
becoming a brilliant student in most of the branches
he inn-sued. After his graduation from the Colleg
iate and Theological departments, he became a
teacher in the University, a position he filled with
credit for several years. While teaching at the
University he continued his pastoral duties and
studied medicine in the Louisville National Medi
cal College. He has also taken a course in law
from the American Correspondence School of Law,
Chicago.

Rev. Offutt is active in both the state and nation
al work of his denomination. Eor several years he
served as moderator of Central District Association
of Kentucky Baptist. Because of his modesty and
Christian piety combined with his general knowl
edge, especially of the Bible, he is held in high es
teem by the ministry and has been honored for the
past three years by the minister's meeting of his
city as lecturer on the Sunday School lesson, one of
which is delivered each Monday morning. In his
church he conducts a class twice a week for the
benefit of all ministers who have not had the ad
vantage of theological training. He is interested
in the Sunday School work of the State and con
ducts institutes in his own district convention. He
is a contributor to the Sunday School Teacher pub
lisher by the National Baptist Publishing Board,
Nashville, Tenn. From time to time he has served
on the various boards of the National Baptist Con
vention and is now a member and treasurer of the
(educational Board of that body.

CHARLES HENRY PARRISH, A. B., A. M.,
D. D., LL. D., F. R. G. S.

T was the late Mark Twain who
insisted that mere facts contained
by far more mystery and more
thrills than fiction. Such certain
ly are the facts of the iife of Dr.
C. H. Parrish, D. D., F. R. G. S.,
President of the Eckstein Norton University,
Cane Springs, Ky., and thirty years pastor of the
Calvary Baptist Church, Louisville, Ky. Dr. Par
rish was born a slave on the Beverly A. Hicks plan
tation in Lexington, Ky. At ten years of age he
was converted and baptized, by Reverend James
Monroe, Pastor First Baptist Church, Lexington,
Ky. Shortly after this he began a life that has
been crowned with rare distinctions, unusual and
out-of-the-way honors and happenings.

Dr. Parrish began to win laurels in school. One
of the early students in the State University, he was
the first valedictorian from the college department
of that insitution. This was in 1886. The Univer
sity thought so well of its first valedictorian that it
afterwards engaged him as a Professor of Greek
and secretary and treasurer of Eckstein University.
Jointly with the Reverend Wm. J. Simmons, he
founded the Eckstein Institute, in 1890, where he
remained as its President for twenty two years, at

which time Eckstein Institute was connected with
Lincoln Institute. Dr Parrish is Secretary of the
Board of Trustees of Lincoln Institute.

During this period, so full of responsible labors,
he remained the Pastor of the Calvary Baptist
Church, of Louisville Kentucky, never once halting
in his active duties in connection therewith. His
time was fully occupied in teaching, preaching, vis
iting and the other multiform duties of a city pas
torate. He won the degree of A. B. and A. M. and
D. D. from the Kentucky State University, LL. D.
from the Central Law School and Fellow of the
Royal Geographical Society from London.

He went to the world's Baptist Congress, which
met in Jerusalem in 1894; was messenger to the
World's Sunday School Convention the same year ;
under the direction of Karl Maschar inspector of
German Baptist Missions, he traveled through Ger
many and preached in seventeen German towns,
winning six hundred converts ; he was a messen
ger to the Baptists of Jamaica in 1915; he has trav
eled through the Holy Land and has stood waist
deep in the waters of the river Jordan ; he has
baptised believers in the Carribean Sea, and in the
Gulf of Mexico.

Traveling thus abroad and extensively in this
country, Dr. Parrish has nevertheless held no end
of important posts at home. As has been stated,
he has been the pastor of the Calvary Baptist
Church of Louisville for thirty years. He is Sup
erintendent of the Kentucky Home for Colored
Children ; president of the citizens National Hospi
tal and Vice President of the Mammoth Life and
Accident Insurance Company; Ex-Moderator of
the General Association of Kentucky Baptists. Yet
these side duties appear only to have multiplied Dr.
Parrish's offices in the church. He has baptised
1500 persons, united 160 couples in marriage,
preached 548 funerals, preached 3000 sermons and
delivered even more lectures. Probably his great
est effort as a pulpit orator came at the Nashville
Convention a few years ago, known as the fiftieth
Jubilee sermon. Dr. J. M. Frost of Nashville, said
of the sermon : "It was a most fitting crown of the
fifty years of remarkable progress of the colored
people."

Many of his sermons and tracts have appeared in
print. Aside from these he has published several
books entitled : "What Baptists Believe," "God and
His People," "The Gospel in the Adjustment of
Race Differences," "Orient Light or Travels in the
Holy Land," "The Golden Jubilee of Kentucky Bap
tists."

Dr. Parrish was married in 1898 to Miss Mary V.
Cook, of Bowling Green, Kentucky. One son,
Charles Henry, Jr., has been born into the Parrish
Home. The young man is now in school in How
ard University, Washington, D. C.

172

OTHO DANDRITH PORTER, A. B.. M. D.

R. O. D. Porter, A. B. and M. D.
is one of those to contradict the
saying that the prophet is without
honor in his own country. Born in
Bowling Green, Kentucky, he has
spent most of his life there. As a
boy he attended the public schools there. As a
young man struggling to find the light he worked
in and around his native city.

On finishing the public schools of Bowling Green,
Dr. Porter went out as a school teacher and for
years gave instruction in the country schools. Two
factors contributed to his stay in the school room :
one was that he was not yet fully persuaded of his
calling: the other, persuasion or not, he had to
earn a livelihood and also pay his way if he de
cided to study further.

His experience with the people in the country
soon pointed to a decision. The people's ways of
eating, of sleeping, of wearing clothes convinced
him that no need was so crying as that for a phy
sician and a social worker, one who not only admin
istered drugs, but spread everywhere and at all
times common knowledge of health and sanitation.
So persuaded, he entered Fisk University prepar
atory department in 1884. He was not seeking

173

short cuts but thorough preparaton. From the pre
paratory department, he entered the college from
which he obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in
1891. During this time he taught school in Ken
tucky, Tennessee, Texas, and many other places to
earn money to make his way. However, though he
had to work his way, he stood as one of the best
scholars of his class and one of the institution's
strongest men.

From Fisk, Mr. Porter enrolled as a medical stu
dent in Meharry Medical College. From here he
received his doctor's degree in three years. Back
to his native home he. went, passed the state ex
amination and set out to right the wrongs of health
such as he had seen during his boyhood days and
during his school teaching in the country. Know
ing his community and state, Dr. Porter was able
to go to the heart of his work at once. He has
been practicng a little more than 20 years. During
this period, though he came out of school all but
penniless, he has equipped himself with the best
books and tools his profession affords, has his auto
mobile, owns some of the choicest real estate in
Bowling Green and owns and lives in a two-tory
brick resdence. His two-story office building faces
main street and joins the costly lot on which is
built the $150,000.00 Custom House.

During the few years of his practice, Dr. Porter
has been president of the National Medical Asso
ciation of Colored Physicians and Surgeons, a post
to which he was elected in 1899. One of the best
facts about his election to this post is the fact that
it came unsought. He is one of the founders of the
State Medical Association and is a member of the
State Association of both white and colored doc
tors.

Doctor Porter was married in April, 1895, to Miss
Carry Bridges of Macon, Miss. Mrs. Porter was
educated at Fisk Universty. To her Dr. Porter
gives most of the praise for his success.

From his own town comes this tribute :

"The public takes keen interest in Dr. Porter's
work. The white physicians have no hesitancy in
sitting in consultation with him because they know
his worth and ability as a physician, and therefore
value highly his opinion in cases which require
rare skill and experience. He is thoroughly inter
ested in all business, social or benevolent move
ments for the advancement of the race in this city
a -id vicinity, and n^ver refuses to give encourage
ment to the struggling young men and women of
the race. As busy as Dr. Porter is with matters
as above indicated, he devotes time to religious
work in his church in an official capacity.

Dr. Porter believes in race co-operation along all
lines, anJ h:c willingness to he'.p hir, p-o;:!e by serv
ing at the head of many organized bodies for uplift
in this city is an evidence of his sincerity."

WILLIAM HENRY STEWARD.

William Henry Steward

Y virtue of devoted services as well
as by dint of years, William H.
Steward of Louisville, Kentucky,
is known throughout the country
as the "Dean of Colored Editors."
He began the publication of the
American Baptist in 1879. For thirty eight years
therefore he has molded the sentiments of his peo
ple both in his state and wherever Baptists are
found. But the American Baptist has merely serv
ed as a sort of peg for him to hang on while he
labored here and advised there. For fourteen years
he was secretary of the National Baptist Conven
tion. For forty years he has been secretary of the
Kentucky Baptist Association, and for forty years
chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Kentucky
State University.

Mr. Steward was born on July 26, 1847, at a time
when neither the advantages of education nor op
portunities knocked very energetically on the black
boy's cabin door, but his ear was keen to hear even
the slight knocking of opportunity and to seize it
by the forelocks while it was passing.

He received the ground work of his education
through private instruction and when he had ad
vanced to a certain point he was sent to Louisville
where he entered private schools. He proved an
apt pupil and became very proficient as a scholar
so that when emancipation came he was ready to
take his place as an efficient worker and leader
among his people.

His preparation during the period of slavery was
a God send to both himself and his people for his
services came at a time when the demand for edu
cated leadership among the Negroes was great and
the supply exceedingly small.

Mr. Steward was quick to recognize the situa
tion and quick to respond to the cry of help and
to devote his life to the uplift of his race.

Like most persons who at that time chanced to
have an education, Mr. Steward entered the pro
fession of school teaching. He began at Krank-
fort, Kentucky, where he taught for three years.
From Frankfort, he returned to his native heath.
Louisville, continuing in the same profession.

The teaching profession did not offer the moder
ate income and fair opportunities for service and
advancement as it does now. Mr. Steward there
fore left the schoolrooms. He entered the employ
of the railroad and for a number of years served
as messenger for the Louisville and Nashville Rail
road Company. From Railroad messenger he be
came letter carrier, being the first colored mail car
rier ever appointed in the city of Louisville. This

post he held for sixteen years. By this time he had
established himself as a thinker and writer. His
paper had become known along with him. He could
now give his time to the publishing of the American
Baptist and to the uplift work with which he had
aligned himself from the beginning of his career.

He had begun his career by joining the church.
In 1867, when he launched out as a school teacher,
he became a member of the Fifth Street Baptist
Church in Louisville. Subsequently he taught a
Sunday School class, the largest in his church, be
came secretary of the choir and Sunday School
Superintendent. He was elected secretary of the
Board of Directors of the Louisville Colored Public
Schools from which place he was later advanced to
chairman of the board. He joined the Masonic
Lodge and was soon made Grand Master. In 1905
he was chosen one of the lay delegates to the
World's Congress which was held in London, Eng
land.

Mr. Steward has traveled much, mainly as a
newspaper man and as an active servant of his
people. Few Negro organizations assemble with
out him. The late Dr. Washington was won't to
say, speaking at the annual Farmers Conference,
"This conference would be very incomplete without
the presence of Mr. W. H. Steward, he has come
here regularly with his sympathy and words of
cheer for years."

Mr. Steward lives in his own home, a brick res
idence in Louisville, surrounded by a happy and well
educated family. He was married to Miss Mamie
E. Lee, in Lexington, in 1878. Mrs. Steward is well
known herself as an educator and a woman of tal
ent. She was for years a teacher of music at the
State University, a native Baptist worker among
women and a lecturer in continual demand. There
are three daughters and one son in the Steward
family Misses Lucy B. and Jennette L. are gradu
ates of the Louisville High School; Miss Carolyna
is not only a graduate from the High School, but
from the State University. All three have been
successful school teachers. Willim H. Jr., is a Me
chanical Engineer, being a graduate of the Armour
School of Technology of Chicago. He was for two
years a teacher in Tuskegee Institute, having
charge of the school's heating plant and lending
great aid in the construction of the larger Tuske
gee heating and lighting plant. He is drafting en
gineer.

The veteran editor and worker, though seventy
years of age, is still in the heyday of service, active
in mind and in body, editing, lending aid, giving ad
vice, attending organizations just as if he were ne
ver to grow old.

175

EDWARD E. UNDERWOOD, M. D.

HE black man of the North and of
the West is rapidly coming into
his own. Time was when the man
of the South boasted that the
"Doers" all came from their ranks.
Not so in these days. Dr. E. E.
Underwood is a conspicious ex
ample of the plucky boy born and
reared in the West. Dr. Underwood was born in
Mt. Pleasant, Ohio, in 1864. As a lad he attended
the Mt. Pleasant High School, where he was grad
uated in 1881. Ten years later he was graduated
from the medical department of the Western Re
serve College of Cleveland, Ohio. For a time he
studied theology under the direction of a private
tutor.

On graduating from the Medical College, Dr.
Underwood began to practice medicine, hanging
out his sign in Frankfort, Kentucky. For twen
ty-five years, now he has practiced medicine in
Frankfort. In that time he has carried honor:
and responsibilities enough to stagger the average
man. He was for seven years a school teacher,
teaching in the Enerson Colored School, of Ohio.
In 1891 he began the editorship of th e "Blue
Grass Fugle," the colored weekly of Frankfort,
which was edited by him for ten years. He was
for four years assistant city physician of Frank-
f^rt ; for fourteen years secrctaiy of the U. S.
Board of Pension Examining Surgeons. In 1910
he established the People's Pharmacy and was its

176

first president. He has been its secretary since
1911. He is Educational Editor of the Lexington
News ; is author of the "History of Colored Church
es of Frankfort," and of several poems.

Besides all 6f these duties and honors, Dr. U..-
derwood has been a "Daniel Boone" among and
for the Negroes of his section. The numbers of
first times for a colored man to do things in his
section seems to fall upon him. He was the first
colored student to enter and graduate from the
Mt. Pleasant, (Ohio) High School ; first colored
member of the Jefferson County (Ohio) Republican
Committee ; first Negro member of the Mt. Pleas
ant, City Council, being elected over four whit?
aspirants for the office. He is the first colored
member of the Board of Regents of Kentucky Nor
mal and Industrial Institute, having been appoint
ed by Governor Bradley in 1898, and appointed
again by Governor Wilson, in 1907.

Large as the number of first things that Dr. Un
derwood has done, they utterly pale before the num
ber of organizations with which he is actively affi
liated.

Dr. Underwood is a Mason, a Knight Templar,
a Knight of Pythias, an Odd Fellow, United Bro
ther of Friendship, member of the Union Benevo
lent Society, and of the Mosiac Templars. He ij
not merely a member of good standing in these
bodies, but has held offices in all of them. He is
at present Supreme Keeper of Records and Seals,
of the Knights of Pythias, N. A. S. A. E. A. and A.,
and member of the Kentucky State Board of Man
agers of the United Brothers of Friendship.

Having so wide and intimate contact with his
people. Dr. Underwood became extremely sensi
tive to their needs and to the wrongs they have
suffered. Thus he is found undertaking many ser
vices in their defense and for their uplift. From
1891 to 1893, he was Executive Secretary of the
Anti-Separate Coach State Executive Committee,
which tested the constitutionality of the "Jim
Crow" law. In 1895, he was the Kentucky Commis
sioner to the Cotton States Exposition, which was
held in Atlanta, and at which Booker T. Wash
ington leaped into fame as an orator. Two years
later he was commissioner from his State to the
Tennessee Centennial Exposition, held in Nash
ville. In 1898, he organized and was first presi
dent of the State League of Colored Republican
Clubs of Kentucky. He is a member of the Frank
lin County Republican Committee in his State and
has been a delegate to every Republican State
Convention since 1892. He was delegate at large
to the Republican National Convention of 1904 and
was strongly endorsed in his State for Register
of the United States Treasury in 1909. He is
president of the Franklin County Colored Ag
ricultural and Industrial Association, member of
the National Medical Association, of the Nation
al Association of Pension Examining Surgeons, of
the National Negro Business League, of the Na
tional Association for the Advancement of Thrift
among Colored people and of the Kentucky State
Medical Association.

Dr. Underwood married Miss Sarah J. W'alker,
There are two sons: Ellworth W. and Robert M.,
the former is a student in the Dept. of Pharmacy,
Western Reserve University of Cleveland, the lat
ter a Senior in the Frankfort Colored High School.

DR. RANDOLPH FRANKLIN WHITE.

H1LE he is really filling the place
of a modest business and profes
sional man. Dr. Randolph Frank
lin White, the Negro Pharmacist.
of Owensboro, Kentucky, has so
so happily mixed business, educa
tion, work and travel, that he may be almost called
a globe trotter. His travels, which all the time
had in them the purpose of business, have taken
him into the leading cities of America, into Can
ada, into Hawaii, into Japan, and into the Philip
pine Islands. Few men have made the profession
of pharmacy serve them such triple service — pro
vide travel, gain experience and supply a livelihood.
Dr. White was born in Warrentown, Florida,
June 25th., 1870. He spent his early school days
in his native State, and early made up his mind to
become a pharmacist. To this end he entered Ho
ward University, from which he graduated in 1897.
But Dr. White cannot be said to have begun or to
have completed his course at any one time. As he
mixed travel with business, so he mixed school ed
ucation and practical education. Thus while he
was attending Howard University, pursuing a
course in Pharmacy, he was at the same time gain-

177

ing practical experience in Pharmacy, working for
the Plumnur Pharmacy, in Washington, D. C.

His graduation in 1897 was therefore more at
taining freedom and license for he was already ripe
in his calling, ready to take charge and manage ra-
ther than serve the usual apprenticeship. He found
no trouble under the circumstances with securing
good responsible posts at the very outset. His
first position was in Louisville, Kentucky. Here
he took charge of the Peoples' Drug Store, and
ran it, giving satisfaction to its stockholders. From
Louisville he went to Lexington and for a time
joined forces with Dr. Ballard. He was already
well known as a pharmacist. The United States
Government, needing a Hospital Steward, Dr.
White was appointed to the post, and commission
ed to serve in the Philippines. Here he worked for
two years, from 1899 to 1901. Hence it was that
he got his trip to the Orient, and other countries
while he was away from the United States.

Having completed his travels and finished his
services with the Government, he returned to Ken
tucky, to begin business for himself. In 1901 he
opened a drug store in Owensboro. Dr. White had
some difficulty in securing a place to begin busi
ness. He therefore bought the store which he
was to use and which he still uses. His business
prospered from the outset, as he had had wide ex
perience in handling drugs and in handling people.
He owns his home and his store in Owensboro and
owns three rent houses in Lexington.

Dr. White is a good churchman and a member
of several fraternal bodies. He is an Episcopalian,
a Mason, an Odd Fellow, U. B. F., and a Knight of
Pythias. In the Masonic order he is Deputy Grand
Master of the State.

Dr. White was married in Lexington, July 23.
1901, to Miss Fannie Hathaway.

Almost every city has some one individual or
business which holds a unique position because of
some marked and distinctive feature or characte
ristic.

Thus in Owensboro. Kentucky. Dr. Randolph
Franklin White is known as the Pharmacist.

lie has won this distinction from his remarkable
success in business, which is universally recog
nized, but not from this alone, his valued services
to the Government during his travels abroad make
their contribution to the enviable reputation he-
enjoys.

His thorough knowledge of his business is evi
denced in the great success he has achieved in it
and this with his courteous manner and elevated
bearing commands the respect of all who deal with
him.

WILLIAM MILLIARD WRIGHT.

HERE was a time when the Negro
.lawyer was the jest of his own
and of .the white race. He was
not allowed to practice in the
courts ; or if accorded the techni
cal privilege, he was denied the
genuine right. He was a lawyer in name and often
well prepared for his work, but prejudice stepped
between him and the practice of his profession and
embarrassed him in his efforts to win recognition.
His earnings were therefore next to nothing.
His clothes were thread-bare; his home depleted;
he and his family, were he so rash as to marry,
went hungry.

Yet with the true spirit of the pioneer, the black
lawyer has endured the whips and scorns of the
courts and of the public until lie is no longer the
mark of open rebuke. Patiently winning his way
he has faced and overcome opposition, met ridi
cule with intellectual force, and dignity, and with
a kind though determined spirit, has finally won
recognition from both the Court and the Bar.
He now even boasts a home of his own ; good
clothes, and a happy family. He enters the courts,
especially in the West and handles his cases on his
merit.

Slowly the men of his profession have devel
oped sufficient esprit d'corps to accord him at
least common courtesy. To win this recognition
he has had to study hard, endure and persevere.
All the time, he like all men of professional careers
among black folk, has had to serve as missionary
to his people on the one hand and batter down by
every sort of means their prejudices on the other.
Surely no men deserve more gratitude from their
people, for whatever has been their endeavor, the
first impulse of the public was that the lawyer
was really "something out for a suit" and not real
ly seeking the public good.

While Mr. Wright's large and ever-growing law
practice requires most of his time, and attention,
he is not unmindful of civic matters and the devel
opment of his people. He is always on the alert
to seize upon every suggestion that will conduce
to their uplift and is foremost in all plans looking
to that end.

In Louisville, for example, the white citizens have
what is known as the "Million Dollar Foundation
Fund. Mr. Wright was much impressed with the
idea resulting in the organization and reasoned
that a like organization would be helpful to tin-
colored race. Co-operating with the colored bus
iness and professional men of the city, a club sim
ilar in purpose is in process of forming. The Negro
Club is to be a $100,000 Mercantle Foundation
Fund.

The prime mover in this endeavor among the col
ored people is William H. Wright of Louisville. Mr.
Wright has been before the public of his state for
many years, both as a professional man and as a
man of business. As a student, a professional and
business man, Mr. Wright is amply equipped for
the great undertaking. Born in Livingston, Ala
bama, he was educated in Selnia University, Selma,
Alabama, in the State University, Louisville, Ken
tucky, and in the department of law, Howard Uni
versity, Washington, D C For the most part he
worked his way through all these schools. He be
gan the practice of law in Louisville, in 1904. He
organized the first Negro Insurance Company of
Kentucky and thus educated many colored people
up to the idea of insurance and to entrusting their
money to Negro enterprises, Since 1904 lie has
been able to amass considerable property holdings,
as he owns his office building on Sixth Street in
Louisville, and several rent houses.

Mr. Wright is a Baptist in religious affiliation,
and is a member of the Fifth Street Baptist Church,
a Mason, Odd Fellow, K. of P. and Mosaic Templar.

lie has traveled extensively both in the United
States and Canada, his travels giving him an en
larged view of life. He has not yet traveled upon
the sea of matrimony, and so the pleasure of that
voyage still awaits him.

178

HOMER MILTON CHARLES.

HIS successful business man, of
Chalmette, Louisiana St. Bernard
Parish, has one of the most pros
perous businesses in Louisiana.
His reputation is not only state
wide, but generally national. He
is a life member of the National Negro Business
Men's League, is an attendant at all meetings of
this body, and an enthusiastic supporter of the Ne
gro Business ideas. Mr. Charles has not always
moved with men of larger finance among Negroes.
He has know the pinch of need and has vivid recol
lections of hard struggles to gain a footing.

Mr. Charles was born in St. Martin Parish, La.,
July 4, 1861. Two years later his parents moved
to St. Bernard Parish. His schooling consisted of
what he gained in the public school of said Parish
and of a private tutor, at home. However, he
was one of the family of thirteen children, which
usually means that as soon as the boys are able to
earn a penny they must be up and away to their
post. Being very industrious, he was employed
on a sugar farm, where he filled many positions.
Later on he began truck farming with his father.

In 1887, feeling that he must still make the de-

179

termined start, he launched forth in business. His
undertaking was modest enough ; consisting of a
fruit stand on the river bank in a store nine by nine
feet. There were three conspicious features to the
whole setting; first, that he was determined to sell
as cheap as his competitors ; second, that with the
assistance of his wife, he was satisfied to be as ec
onomical as any one else ; third, that as he had that
ambition to push forward, was determined to be
as polite to his customers as his competitors. This
spot was near Chalmette National Cemetary, on the
historic spot where the "Battle of New Orleans"
was fought. It was one of the rather few instances
in which a Negro dared to become a fruit dealer.
Inch by inch, as the song goes, he developed his
business. Taking his basket on his shoulder, he
peddled his fruits from house to house, until he
had built up confidence, gained patronage and the
respect of the entire community. Then he purchas
ed a one-horse wagon ; then followed two horses
and wagon to meet the demand for deliveries.

He was already married to Miss Hester Anderson
of St. Bernard in the year 1885. She was the si
lent but effective partner during these stages of
uncertainty. She did work in private families,
helping to provide food for the family and some
times capital for the business. Four daughters
sprang from this union, three of whom are living.
Miss Sadie died while preparing for graduation at
New Orleans University. The others are: Misses
Augusta, Mary and Clara. Miss Clara, the young
est, is still in school.

Today Mr. and Mrs. Charles are among the lead
ing property owners of Louisiana. Besides own
ing their home, they have stock in the Friscoville
Realty Company, of St. Bernard and have several
houses for rent.

Mr. Charles is what is often called an organiza
tion man, believing as he does in organization of
men into bodies as means of promoting race wel
fare. He is Catholic in his religion ; a member of
Felicity Lodge K. P. No. 199, Daughters of Cres
cent Tab. No. 27, Progressive Aid Mutual Benefit
Association. In the business and educational
world, he is a life member of the National Negro
Business Men's League, an honorary member of
the Bergemont Educational Association, a member
of the Fazendville Educational Association, a stock
holder in the Bank of St. Bernard, a stock holder
in the World Bottling Company, New Orleans. He
has traveled over the United States on business, and
for pleasure and relaxation.

During his residence in St. Bernard Parish, Mr.
Charles has built up such a reputation of integrity
and honesty as to be considered the most respon
sible Negro Citizen in his community by both his
people and the White authorities.

Walter L Cohen

N New Orleans, Louisiana, Jan
uary 22, 1860, was born Walter
L. Cohen ; and the place of his
birth has been the scene of most
of his active life. Here he has
lived and made a place for himself
in the business world, in the fraternal world, and
in the political world, as well as one of prominence
in the social world. As a young lad, he attended
the public schools of New Orleans, and then spent
two years in Straight University, of New Orleans,
and one year in the St. Louis Catholic School.
While his opportunity for attending school lasted
we find the young man applying himself diligently
to the work in hand. Indeed this has been the key
note of his whole life — applying himself to the
work then in hand.

While still a boy he started out to learn to be a
cigar maker, but because he was not a smoker, he
was. made ill by this work and had to give it up.
His next work was in a saloon. Here he remained
for about four years. In 1889 he gave up his work
in the saloon to take up the work of United States
Inspector. Later he was promoted to the position
of Lieutenant of the United States Inspectors. In
this capacity he served until the democrats took
charge, when he resigned the position. In 1899 he
was appointed Register of the United States Land
Office at New Orleans. This appointment came
from President McKinley and he was re-appointed
by President Roosevelt. He served in this office
until 1911. We find that Mr. Cohen has been very
active in politics for a great number of years. He
was a delegate to the National Republican Con
vention, in 1892, 1898, 1900, 1904, 1908, 1912 and in
1916. He is the recognized leader of the fight
against the "Lily White Republicans of Louisiana."
So active has Mr. Cohen been in the interest of his
people in his native city that the Mayor of the city
appointed him as a chairman of the colored citi
zens committee. This committee has charge of all
matters concerning the education and general wel
fare of the colored people of New Orleans. In this
capacity Mr. Cohen has had a great opportunity
to help his race, an opportunity which he was quick
to seize and which he used to their best advantage.
In another line of work, he has done equally as
much for the betterment of his people. He is
President of the People's Industrial Life Insurance
Company.. Mr. Cohen owns three-fifths of the
stock of this company. To do the work of the
company there are employed nearly one hundred
colored agents. In all they collect over $100,000.00
in premiums yearly. The organization of this com-

180

pany furnishes work — work where our young peo
ple can earn a livelihood and still keep their self
respect. Mr. Cohen has also one third interest in
two drug stores. In addition to the money inves
ted in these concerns he owns his beautiful resi
dence in the city and a summer home in Bay St.
Louis, Mississippi.

Mr. Cohen leads a full, active life and it would
seem that his private interests would command his
entire time, nevertheless, he is found upon the mem
bership roll of a number of organizations.

He is a member of Mt. Olive Lodge, No 21, Ma
sons ; Zenith Lodge No. 175, Knights of Pythias ;
1'ride of Louisiana, No. 1324, Grand Linked Order
of Odd Fellows. He has been president of the Ec
onomy Benefit Association for twenty-four years.
This last named organization is composed of the
old Creole citizens in New Orleans, they first or
ganized themselves in 1836.Mr. Cohen is also Pres
ident of the Iroquois Social Club, and Vice-Presi
dent of Providence Hospital Board of Administra
tors.

In these times of war our country has not fail
ed to recognize the need of strong men to help back
her in all her efforts to conquer Germany. It is
not surprising that Mr. Cohen was early called upon
to take a part and he did his share of the work
well. He was a member of the Speakers Bureau,
whose duty was to speak in the interest of Liberty
Bonds, Red Cross and other war measures. He was
also the representative of the colored people on the
Executive Committee for War Saving Stamps for
New Orleans.

In religious belief, Mr. Cohen is a Catholic. He
is active in the affairs of his church. He serves
as a member of the board of Directors of the St.
Louis Catholic School. In the St Joseph Catholic
Church, New Orleans. Louisiana, Mr. Cohen was
married, to Miss Wilhelmina M. Seldon, March 19,
1882. There is a family of four children, two boys
and two girls. W'alter L. Cohen, Jr., and Benjamin
B. Cohen, work with their father in the Insurance
Company and are following in his footsteps, and
are being trained to carry on this business, when
their father retires. Miss Margret R. Cohen is a
school teacher and Miss Camille is now Mrs. Bell
and is a cashier in one of her father's drug stores.
As is seen from this, Mr. Cohen has provided pay
ing positions for his own children in developing his
business ability, as well as providing places for
the children of others. What he is doing for his
children in a material way will not compare with
what he has done to fit them for life.

PAUL H. V. DEJOIE, M. D.

| ORN and educated in New Orleans,
La.. Dr. Paul H. V- Dejoie enter
ed upon and successfully pursued
his practice in his native city.
Born July 2nd. 1872, he was the
first child of Artistide Dejoie and
Ellen Chambers. Because of the fact that his
father held many responsible positions during his
life time, the young lad did not have all the strug
gle for an education that some of our prominent
men have had. So we find that Mr. Dejoie as
a buy was a constant pupil in the New Orleans
Public Schools. Having gotten from the public
course of instruction all that they li d to offer. Dr.
Dejoie entered Southern University. Here he was
one of the best known and most popular students
of his day. He won the Peabody Scholarship Me
dal. After graduation from Southern he decided
to take up the study of medicine. To this end he
matriculated at the New Orleans University, and
completed the course in 1895. He went before
the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners
and passed. This fact is striking because he was
the first colored man to pass that board.

Having secured his privilege to practice medicine
he settled down to that work in his own native

city, New Orleans. Here he remained for the past
t \venty-three years. During this time he has been
successful as a practitioner, having built up quite
a practice. Seeing the need of the colored people
for a Drug Store, he busied himself in opening one.
In this drug store he owns half interest. It was
from the first a very successful undertaking. The
store bears his name — Dejoie Cut Rate Pharmacy,
being the name of the Drug Store.

In the work as a physician, he had an abundant
chance to see the needs of the colored people when
they were sick, and the needs of the bereaved fam
ilies. To in a measure alleviate the suffering from
these two sources, he has interested himself in the
Unity Industrial Life Insurance and Sick Benefit
Association. For two years he served the organi
zation in the capacity of Secretary, and since that
time he has been president of the organization.
Under his management he has seen the association
grow rapidly. It has gone to the front and now
is ahead of all companies doing similar insurance
in the State. This company is conducted on broad
and liberal principles by conservative and well-
qualified persons. The company paid over $350,-
000.00 to members in Louisiana for sickness, ac
cident and death. It gives profitable employment
to over two hundred colored people. In this way.
Dr. Dejoie has been able to serve his race from
two entirely different points. He has made work
for a number, and he has made it possible for many
sick to have some of the comforts of life.

Dr. Dejoie has made it a point to come in contact
with the better men of the race. In order to do
this he had connected himself with several frater
nal orders. He is a thirty-second degree Mason,
an Odd Fellow, and a Knight of Pythias. To these
organizations he has brought his good business
judgment, his strong sense of right and wrong and
his pleasing personality.

During the twenty-three years, Dr. Dejoie has
been out in the world for himself, he has formed
the habit of saving. So among his worldly poss
essions we might note his beautiful home, a dou
ble cottage and his stock in various banks, oil wells
and gold mines.

Although born, partly educated and established in
business in the same city, Dr. Dejoie has, never-the
less taken time to travel about a great deal in his
own country. He has traveled extensively in the
Kast, and through most of the Southern States.
He also spent some time in Jaures, Mexico. Dr.
Dejoie has served his Alma Mater as president of
the Alumni Association.

On June 16th, 1900, he was married to Miss El
la Brown, of New Orleans. There are two sons in
the Dejoie family, P. H. V. Jr., and Pradhomme,
who are now attending school in New Orleans.

181

SMITH WENDELL GREEN.

W. GREEN became a member of
the order of K. of P. on July 17,
1883 when the Order was in its
infancy, being a charter member
of Pride of Tensas Lodge No. 21,
St. Joseph, La. He was elected to
the station of V. C. of the lodge, but served as C. C.
from the time of the organization of the lodge until
June 30, 1886. He was the Grand Representative
from this lodge, and immediately upon entering the
Grand Lodge, his ability to handle finances com
menced to show itself, and in May, 1884, he was
elected to the position of G. M. of F., and served
for one year ; the office has since been abolished.

In April, 1886, he was elected to the position of
G. K. of R. and S. and served in that station until
1891. He was elected to the position of G. C. in
May, 1892, served until 1897, and declined re-elec
tion. In April, 1899, he was again elected to the
position of G. C. Upon assuming that station he
found the finances of the Grand Lodge in an insol
vent condition. The general fund had no assets,
while its liabilities amounted to $105.62. The En
dowment Fund showed the small amount of assets
as $196.40, while its liabilities showed death claims

due and unpaid, aggregating $3,424.25. The mem
bership at that time was only 897.

He found that it was necessary to increase the
endowment dues if the Grand Lodge of the State
of Louisiana was to be resurrected. The recom
mendation he made was adopted and became a part
of the laws of the Grand Lodge with the result
that a sufficient sum was soon accumulated to pay
off all outstanding claims for endowment. When
the Grand Lodge met in April, 1902, they found
themselves entirely out of debt, with a small sur
plus on hand to the credit of the endowment de
partment. The Grand Lodge was then paying an
endowment of $300.00, ninety days after filing the
claim.

In April, 1905, he recommended that the endow
ment policies be raised to $500, and the claims be
paid within thirty days after they were filed. In
the year of 1906, the surplus in the Endowment
Fund had reached such a large sum, and was grow
ing all the time, that the question arose, "What
shall we do with this money?" It was then nec
essary for S. W. Green to study out a way of in
vesting it. Accordingly, in 1906, at the Grand
Lodge Session in Alexandria, La., he recommended
that the Grand Lodge State of Louisiana erect a
Pythian Temple, and accordingly an appropriation
of $12,000 was made by the Grand Lodge for the
purchase of a site.

This appropriation was found to be insufficient
to purchase a site in the desired locality, and an ad
ditional $3,000 was therefore appropriated to pay
for same. This appropriation resulted in the pur
chase of a desirable site in the city of New Drleans,
La., to be used at later date for a Pythian Temple.
The original appropriation for the temple was only
$60,000 but realizing that a $60,000 building in a city
like New Orleans would not serve the purpose for
which it was intended, he allied his forces, and car
ried them to the Grand Lodge, which convened in
the city of New Orleans in 1908. Here the Grand
Lodge approved his action in reference to building
a magnificent structure, which is now completed
and cost in the neighborhood of $200,000. Today we
see that from the crippled conditions of affairs
when Mr. Green assumed control of the office, the
Grand Lodge of the State of Louisiana has 180
lodges in the state, with a membership of 9,000 and
with the total resources of $123,354.07, endowment
claims being paid within thirty days after filing.

Mr. Green attended the first Supreme Lodge ses
sion in August, 1893 as Supreme Representative
for the State of Louisiana, in August, 1895, at St.
Louis, Mo., and has attended every Supreme Lodge
session as a representative since that date.

At the Supreme Lodge session at Pittsburg, Pa.,
in 1905, he was elected to the position of Supreme
Vice Chancellor and ex-officio, Supreme Worthy
Counsellor. At the Supreme Lodge session in
Louisville, Ky., in 1907, he was re-elected to the
position and held that position until April 3, 1908,
when he assumed the duties of Supreme Chancellor
the place made vacant by the death of the late S.
W. Starks.

182

HENRY CLAUDE HUDSON, D. D. S.

LL those doubting the efficacy of
a young man's acquiring a trade
in his early years should know
the story of Dr. Henry Claude
Hudson, D. D. S. of Shreveport,
Louisiana. A trade not only pro
vided him his daily bread, even when he was very
young, but it was the agency whereby he gained
funds to pursue his education and whereby he was
able on at least one occasion to render almost price
less service to himself and to his people.

Born in Marksville, Avoyles Parish, Louisiana,
April 19th, 1886, his parents moved to Alexandria,
La., when he was a five-year-old where he passed
his early school days. Having aspiration for higher
education he entered the eighth District Academy
at Alexandria, where he prepared to enter college.
However there was no means in sight to defray
his expenses through school and so dropping out of
school he went forth and became apprentice at
brickmasonry. Having mastered this trade he re-
entered school and once more pursued his studies.
From the academy in Alexandria, he went to Wiley
University in Marshall, Texas. It was here that his
trade served him in such good stead and did such
excellent service for his people. When Dr. Hudson
entered Wiley, in 1910, that institution was about
to erect a Carnegie Library. All was ready except
the labor. This was under the control of the

unions. A dead lock insued. In this situation the
young man came forward, stated that he was a
brickmason and that he would take charge of the
work and complete it, if the University would pro
vide students to help. This was agreed to, and the
library was built, much to the satisfaction of the
university and the glory and profit of the young
man.

Finding him a thoroughly reliable builder and
that it saved money by his taking the contract, Wi
ley University soon had him on other buildings.
Several dormitories for boys were to be erected. It
engaged his services as superintendent, and thus
erected its buildings with a considerable saving to
itself and with no further trouble from the labor
unions.

Having now decided to become a dentist, and
having solved pretty well the difficulty of financing
himself, Dr. Hudson entered Howard University
in Washington, D. C. Several times, however, he
found during his course in dentistry that he could
not turn his trade to immediate account. Compe
tition was a good deal sharper in the North, he
found, than it was in the South. Thus in his short
vacations when time was exceedingly precious he
turned his energies to whatever task his hands
could find. He found the Pennsylvania Dining Car
service the most immediate employment and the
largest remuneration for a short space of time.
Engaging in this service he was able to continue
his education. Incidently he traveled all over the
eastern states while he was in this work.

Graduating from the Howard University Dental
course in June, 1913, he immediately returned to
his home land and prepared for the state examin
ations. To make assurance doubly sure he took
the examinations in two states, Louisiana and Ark-
kansas. In both states he passed. Louisiana was
his home, and in his home he preferred to try first.
Hanging out his sign in Shreveport, he began his
career as a dentist. His success has far exceeded
even his ambition. In a short time he found that
one chair was not sufficient to accommodate his
patrons. He found also that he could not meet all
the demands made upon him. He therefore set up
a second chair and employed an assistant, a young
lady who is giving most efficient service.

That he has been unusually successful as a pro
fessional man is shown from the amount he has
been able to accumulate during the few years of
his practice. Dr. Hudson owns his home, a very at
tractive residence on Jordan Street in Alexandria.
He has equipped his office with the most up-to-date
dental appliances available. All these he owns,
having paid for them $3000.

Though genuinely interested in the life of
Shreveport, Dr. Hudson has but little time to °-ive
to lodge or social engagements. Only his Sabbaths
are free, and frequently only a part of these. He
is a member of the St. James Methodist Episcopal
Church of Shreveport, where he attends services,
and takes such active part in church work as his
time will allow. He was elected a member of the
Board of trustees of Wiley University in May, 1918.

Dr. Hudson was married to Miss Thomey B.
Thomas of Shreveport, September 14, 1914. Dr.
and Mrs. Hudson have two children, Henry Claude,
Jr., who was born January 5th, 1916; and Gloria T.,
who was born April 11, 1917.

183

MASON ALBERT HAWKINS, A. B., A. M.

ASON Albert Hawkins, of Balti
more, Maryland, is a Virginian by
birth. On October 21, 1874, he
was born in Charlottsville, Al-
hermarle County. At an early
age he went from Virginia to
Maryland where he attended the Elementary
schools, of Baltimore. Completing the work of
the graded schools he prepared for college at
Morgan College, also in Baltimore. From Mor
gan College Mr. Hawkins went to Harvard Univer
sity. Here he spent four years in the classical
course of this great institution, graduating in 1901.
with the degree A. B. He received the degree of
A. M., from Columbia University in 1910.

Upon finishing the course at Harvard, Mr. Haw
kins became a teacher of Latin, German, and Ec
onomics, in the Colored High School, of Baltimore.
In this position he worked for five years, when he
became head of Department of Foreign Languag
es in 1906. In 1909 he was made Vice-Principal of
this school and Principal the latter part of the same
year. Here Mr. Hawkins still labors. Most of
his life has been spent in the school rooms of Bal
timore.

Since Mr. Hawkins took charge of the Colored
High School it has had a great growth. He has
modified the course of study to meet in a large de
gree the needs of the community which it serves.
He emphasizes the obligations of the teacher to the
parents. He also lays great stress upon the need
of broad vision and sympathy and the requirement
of high professional skill. With these views it is
but natural that Mr. Hawkins himself should go
out of the school room to touch the lives of all in
the community. So we find him an active member
of the Union Baptist Church, a member of the
American Academy of Political and Social Sciences,
and a Fellow of American Geographical Society.
But his interests in the people of his immediate
community is shown more in the fact that he
serves as a member of the Board of Provident
Hospital; President of the Maryland Colored Pub
lic Health Association; Treasurer of the Maryland
Colored Blind Association ; Member of the Com
mission on Preparedness and Defense for the Col
ored People of Maryland.

He was appointed to the Commission on Pre-
pardness by Governor Harrington. This alone goes
to show that his. efforts in the behalf of the Race
has attracted the attention of the whole State. So
numerous and so varied are these bodies which he
serves, that it is readily seen that it is no one
phase of the development of the Race which Mr.
Hawkins has at heart, but the advancement of the
entire people.

Along with all the interests which are ever be
fore Principal Hawkins, he has an interest in cer
tain inventions. On this he spends considerable
time. It to him is a recreation from the other kind
of work which is ever with him. He has been
awarded patents on a cabinet for player music rolls
and he has patents pending on a number of various
devices.

On October 14, 1905, Mr. Hawkins was married
to Miss Margaret B. Gregory. Mrs. Hawkins is
the daughter of the late Professor James M. Gre
gory, of Bordentown Industrial School, Borden-
town, New Jersey. Mr. Hawkins has two sons,
Gregory Hawkins, and Mason A. Hawkins. These
two lads are in the schools of Baltimore and give
promise ;of great intellectual development. Mr.
Hawkins ambition is to prepare them for an hon
orable and useful life.

Mr. Hawkins has set the example of thrift for
those who take him as a pattern. He pays taxes
on both real-estate and personal property. In this
man we see one well rounded. He is a sound
scholar, a progressive educator, and an excellent
administrator. At the same time he touches the
lives of all the people about him, even the most
lowly in a helpful manner.

184

WILLIAM PICKENS, A. B.. A. M., LIT. D., LL. D.

S a very young man in school,
William 1'ickens won for himself
honors and the name ot a close
student and a good speaker. What
the young man gave promise of
being William 1'ickens, the man,
is. He was born in South Carolina,
Jan. 15, 1881. His public school
training was received in Arkansas. In 1899 he
graduated from the High School in Little Rock, as
Valedictorian of the class. Not only had young
Pickens led his particular class, but he had higher
marks than any student had ever made in the
school. After leaving High School, Mr. Pickens
entered Talledega College, Talledega, Alabama, and
graduated with the degree of- A .B., again valedic
torian of his class. Not yet satisfied with his train
ing the subject of this sketch next entered Yale Un
iversity. After two years stay he graduated in the
highest grade, "Philosophical Oration Grade" in
class of over three hundred. One of the rewards
of his high scholarship was receiving Phi Beta
Kappa. During his first year at Yale Mr. Pickens
won the highest of ten different prizes for Oratory
in the James Teneyck Oratorical Contest. Thous
ands of people complimented him on this achieve
ment among them being ex-President Cleveland.
President Roosevelt's family.

Having completed the work at Yale, Professor
Pickens first worked in his old school. Talladega

College. Here for ten years he was Professor of
Language. While in Talladega, he took a very
special interest in the students. At all times he
was willing and ready to see their side of any ques
tion and to see that they were given their rights.
While teaching in Talladega, Fisk University, Nash
ville, Tennessee gave him the degree of Master of
Arts, for a Latin thesis. After ten years of work
at Talladega, Professor Pickens gave up the work
there and accepted the position as Professor of
Greek and Sociology in Wiley University, Mar
shall, Texas, 1914-15, and then the post of Dean of
Morgan College, Baltimore, Md. This position he
held till 1917, when the Trustees of Morgan made
him Vice-President. Selma University honored him
with the degree Lit. D., in 1915, and Wiley with
L. L. D., in 1918.

Mr.. Pickens did not leap suddenly into fame as
a speaker. From his earliest young manhood he
led his mates in this particular line. While in the
Sophomore year at Talladega, he began lecturing
in the North. At this time he was only nineteen
years of age. And so well were his hearers pleased
with the words of wisdom uttered by one so young,
that they requested the publication of these address
es.

Since this beginning as a public speaker, Mr.
Pickens has made for himself a great name in this
particular line. He appeared on the American
Missionary Association program at Springfield,
Massachusetts, in 1900, in the Court Square Thea
tre. At the same time Booker T. Washington, the
great race leader, and Newell Dwight Hillis, fa
mous New York preacher, were speakers. Many
times since that day Mr. Pickens has appeared in
similar meetings. He is in constant demand in
both the North and the South for the lecture plat
form.

At the same time that he was making a name for
himself in this line of speaking, he was making
known his powers as a writer. He has written
many articles for magizines and many phamplets.
He has out now a book, "The New Negro." It is
a book of merit and one that has met with ready
appreciation.

That Mr. Pickens is no dreamer but can handle
practical problems very well is evidenced by the
manner in which he is serving his country during
this war. He, with Mr. Spingarn are reputed to be
the first to make a move for an officers' Training
Camp for Negroes. At the time many were hostile
to the idea, especially is this true of the attitude of
the Negro press. But today we are proud of that
cam]) and its results. Mr. Pickens has taken his
time to busy himself with the different canton
ments, visiting and speaking to the men. As a
member of the Maryland Council of Defense, he
is doing many sorts of war work.

Mr. Pickens was married in 1905, to Miss Min
nie McAlpine of Meridian Mississippi. To them
have been born three children, William, Jr., Har
riet Ida, Ruby Annie. They are all pupils in school
and are showing that they have inherited from
their father some of his ability.

Mr. Pickens has traveled extensively. He has
covered the greater part of this country and has
traveled in Europe. He is a fine example of "The
New Negro" himself.

18S

WILLIAM STANLEY RRAITHWAITE.

N Boston, Massachusetts, in the
year 1868, there was born a child
who was destined to take a lead
ing place as an authority on
American Verse. This child was
William Stanley Braithwaite. At
the age of twelve years he had to leave school in
order that he might help provide for his mother.
This was due to the fact that he had lost his father.
Up to the time he left school the lad had been a
close student and had mastered all the tasks that
were set for him. And even though lie was out
of school, young Braithwaite did not cease to study
but continued to be thoughtful and to absorb all
the culture that surrounded him.

Mr. Braithwaite says of himself: "At the age
of fifteen like a revealation, there broke out in me
a great passion for poetry, an intense love for lit
erature, and a yearning for the ideal life which fos
ters the creation of things that come out of dreams
and visions and symbols. J dedicated my future to
literature, though the altar upon which I was to
lay my sacrificial life seemed beyond all likelihood
of opportunity and strength and equipment to
reach. I set about it, however, with fortitude,
hope and patience."

What the exercise of these three virtues brought
r.bout in the life of this young man may be readily

seen from the results that he has been able to
achieve. In America and abroad as well he is re
cognized as the leading authority .on American
Poetry. This high place- did not conic to him be
cause of his love for this work, but because of tin-
time and effort he put into the study of the sub
ject. For the past twelve years he has devoted
most of his time to the study of American poetry.
F.ach year he has published in the Boston Tran
script a review of poetry for the vear and each
year he has published an Anthology of American
Poems. In this work Mr. Braithwaite includes all
of the poems written during the year that arc, in
his opinion worth while. In such high regard is
the opinion of this man held that not to be in his
book for the vear, is not to be known as a poet.
In fact in the opinion of literary folk in F.ngland
Mr. Braithwaite is not only an authority on Amer
ican Poetry, but The Authority on the subject.

Mr. Braithwaite stands to the colored boy and
the colored girl as an example of the man who has
gone to the top in spite of his color. So many hold
that the best place is never given to a person of
color. Mr. Braithwaite is a positive denial of this
saying. In fact with him, and with a few others
who have dared to go ahead, starts the saying —
a man can be just what he wants to be in spite
of his color.

The works of Braithwaite include "Lyrics of
Life and Love," "The Book of Klizabethian
Verse," "The House of Falling Leaves," "The
Book of Georgian Verse," "The Book of Restora
tion Verse," and "The Book of Victorian Verse."
The publishers for the works of Braithwaite say
of his Poetic Year for 1916: "Here is a book that
is actually 'Something new tinder the sun,' and
furthermore, 'fills a long felt want.' " Any lover
of poetry, any student of contemporary literature,
who desires to form an intelligent estimate of
recent poetry, or to make an acquaintance with any
individual poet of our time sufficiently definite to
give him the requisite knowledge for an intelligent
discussion, will find the book indispensable.

"The method of the book is not the least of its
virtues. A friendly discussion takes place among a
group of four friends, including Mr. Braithwaite
himself, who provides the guiding hand."

"Bv this lively treatment, so surprisingly differ
ent from the usual method of critical writing, tin-
reader forms a personal impression, as human as
it is well founded of the poetry" of all contempo
rary poets who are really deserving of that title.

William Stanley Braithwaite has made a place
for himself at the top in his chosen work, lie is
held up here as an ideal along his line to all young-
persons of color, lie is an example of what con
centrated endeavor will do for a person of deter
mination.

186

WILLIAM NELSON DeBERRY, D. D.

HEN Fisk University wishes to
point to her useful and scholarly
graduates, she usually comes very
soon to the name of William N
DeBerry. As it is with Fisk, so
it is with the whole of Nashville.
He is especially a source of pride to Nashville, not
because she is lacking in conspicious men among
her colored citizens, but because of the theory that
the men living nearest institutions of learning fre
quently make the least use of them. This saying is
far from true in the case of the subject of this
sketch.

Mr. DeBerry was born in Nashville, Tennessee,
August 29, 1870. He was fortunate enough to be
able to attend school from early childhood. So we
find him as a lad attending the public schools of his
native city. Here he applied himself very diligent
ly to the work in hand. Always he had before
him the chance of attending the University which
was open for him at his very door. So we find
him while still a young man entering Fisk. Here
he remained to complete the course of study and
graduate. He finished with the class of 1896. While
in Fisk University young DeBerry was always

187

ready to receive with an open mind the instruc
tion of his teachers. Hence we have him as a shin
ing example of the good scholars that arc turned
out by Fisk University.

Leaving Fisk, Mr. DeBerry matriculated at Ober-
lin College in Ohio. Here he was a student in the
theological Department. From the full course of
that department he was graduated in 189C). Mr.
DeBerry is a Congregationalist in church affilia
tion. Leaving Oberlin he went to Springfield,
Massachusetts to pastor the St. John's Congrega
tional Church there. Here he has remained since
that time, having had but the one charge in all
these years. This is remarkable for a pastor of
any denomination.

Working hard and steadily at his post, studying
to keep abreast of the times, Dr. Ue Berry is much
in demand as a public speaker and lecturer and
freely welcomed into many organizations for his
usefulness. His has been a life spent in develop
ing the younger people with whom he came in
contact. He has endeavored to make them better
men and women — better mentally, morally and
spiritually.

The St. John's Congregational Church has what
is perhaps the most modern and best equipped
plant of all the colored churches in New England.
The present edifice which was erected in 1911 is
valued, together with its equipment, at $30,000. It
io free from debt.

Ihe Church is unique in its plan of organization
and in the method of its varied activities. It seeks
to adapt its work in all its phases to the religious
and social needs of the people whom it serves. It
is known throughout the country for the well or
ganized and very efficient institutional work which
it carries on. The institutional activities include
a parish home for working girls, a night school of
Domestic Science, a social center for women and
girls, a club house for young men and boys, a free
employment bureau and a department of family
housing. The institutional staff includes six paid
workers in addition to the pastor. The real estate
and equipment of the institutional department are
valued conservatively at $50,000 making the total
valuation of the property owned by the church at
about $80,000.

Among the many organizations which are proud
to claim Dr. DeBerry a member are the American
Missionary Association, and the American Board
of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. Of both
these organizations he is a life member.

In 1914 Fisk University elected him a member
of her board of trustees. In this capacity he still
serves the school that gave him his inspiration for
his life of usefulness.

Recognizing the excellent work of this man,
Lincoln University conferred upon him the degree
of Doctor of Divinity, in 1915. In 1917 he was el
ected to honorary membership in the fraternity of
Alpha Phi Alpha. In this way some of the honor
due Dr. DeBerry is being received by him now.

Dr. DeBerry was married in 1899 to Miss Aman
da McKissack, of 1'ulaski, Tennessee. Mrs. De-
Berry is a graduate of Fisk University. Two
children have been born to brighten and gladen the
home of the DeBerry's — Charlotte Pearl and Anna
Mae. They are both young misses in school.

DAVID EUGENE CRAWFORD.

ROM a date somewhere near the
clays of Plymouth Rock and the
first Pilgrims, Boston, Massachu
setts, has had its famous Negroes.
Phillis Wheatley was the first fa
mous Negro of Massachusetts, as
she was the first woman poet of the state and the
first, and perhaps the only Negro woman poet
of the ages. Crispus Attucks and Peter Salem were
the famous black men of the Revolutionary times,
then came the Ruffins, the Trotters, but history
becomes confused. She cannot distinguish between
the real Bostonian and the man and woman who
went to Boston to become famous, or who be
came famous because they went to Boston.

Hem-ever, from Phillis Wheatley to this day Bos
ton has never lacked for genuinely strong and use
ful colored people. Among the modern leaders of
the practical, modest yet very powerful and useful
type is numbered David Eugene Crawford.

Mr. Crawford was born in Lynchburg, Virginia,
December 26th, 1869. He attended the public
schools of Lynchburg, and then attended Hampton
Institute. Getting the Hampton stamp upon him
he went to Boston and began work. All along he

188

has linked work and education ; because he could
not pursue his studies without working and he
would not work without studying. When he was
sixteen he began dealing in produce in the Virginia
markets. In Boston, at the age of twenty, he be
came a caterer, pursuing his studies in the mean
time in the Boston Y. M| C. A.. This business of
caterer and student he followed until 1907 when
he was admitted to the Bar to practice law. Thus
he became after a struggle of a quarter of a century
to realize his dream of a professional life.

But Mr. Crawford found entrance into the pro
fession of law by no means marked his entrance in
to public life. It rather marked a public recogni
tion of what he had done and been in Massachu
setts for more than a score of years. He has been
closely allied with the New England Suffrage
League, with civic movements, with meetings and
petitions for justice to the black man throughout
the country. Indeed there has scarcely been a step
taken among the colored people of Boston during
these years but Mr. Crawford has been a conspic
uous figure.

What the leading citizens of Massachusetts think
of him is shown by the many prominent offices he
holds and by the cooperation he has been able to
gain in his undertakings. He is treasurer of the
Ebenezer Baptist Church, of which he has for years
been a member. He has been a Mason for twenty-
five years. He is a thirty-third degree Mason and
Past Master of the Eureka Lodge, a member of all
masonic branches and Deputy of the Valley of
Massachusetts. In 1915 the Governor of Massachu
setts appointed him master in Chancery, and in 1916
the citizens of Boston elected him as a delegate to
the National Republican Convention, which met at
Chicago. The crowning mark of public confidence,
however, came to Mr. Crawford, in 1910, when he
opened the Eureka Co-Operative Bank, the only
Negro Bank in the Bay State. That it has run
successfully ever since in a city and in a state
where banks are common and competition for
money very sharp, is highly expressive of the pub
lic in Mr. Crawford.

Through studying and serving Mr. Crawford
managed all along to accumulate property and to
educate a growing family. He has traveled in the
North, Middle West, and in some parts of the
South and in Canada. His property holdings of
apartments, stores and commercial properties are
valued in all at $150,000.

Mr. Crawford was married to Miss Almira G.
Lewis of Boston in 1894. Their four children are
all making careers worthy of their father, who has
set such a high standard of attainment. J. William
Crawford, who is twenty-two years of age is a
senior in the Boston University Law School ; Miss
Mildred L., age twenty-one, is a bookkeeper and
stenographer, Miss Helen F is a sophomore in Rad-
cliff College, and Miss M. Virginia is a senior in the
Girl's High School of Boston.

ROLAND WILTSE HAYES.

OLAND W. Hayes, easily the
leading tenor of the Colored Race
was born June 5, 1887, at Curry-
ville, Georgia. Here in Georgia
he lived on the farm, working, at
tending school when it was in
session, till he was fourteen years
of age. His father died, leaving
seven children, and Roland was among the older
ones. On him therefore fell some of the responsi
bility. His mother moved, when he was fourteen,
to Chattanooga, Tennessee. The problem of edu
cating the children was a serious one. Mrs. Hayes
finally hit upon the plan of letting the two older
boys, Robert and Roland, take turns at attending
school. One went to school one year, while the
other worked to help in the support of the family
and the next year this turned it about. In this
manner Roland W. Hayes had a chance t«i attend
school. He made the most of his opportunity dur
ing the four years they were thus taking their
turns at school.

Arthur W. Calhoun, (Colored), a graduate of the
Oberlin Conservatory of Music, heard young Hay
es sing one day and persuaded him to take lessons
and urged him to adopt singing as a profession.
His first public appearance aroused enthusiastic
comment and a sum of money was raised to per
mit the boy to continue his studies at the musical
college. With this help and by his own labors he

spent four years in Fisk University. Here his voice
was under the care of the Vocal teacher, Miss
Jennie A. Robinson, head of the music department.

In the summer of 1910 Mr. Hayes went to Louis
ville, Kentucky, where he worked for eight
months. His object in working in Louisville was
to save money enough to go North for further
training. Combining work and education, Mr.
Hayes took a job as a waiter in Pendennis club.
Some of the members learned that he could sing,
through the head waiter, Mr. Henry T. Bain.
Through them he had many opportunities to fill
engagements as a singer. It was through this
club that he met a theatrical manager, who hired
him at five dollars a day for a month. At the con
clusion of this engagement, through one of the
members of the Pendennis club, in which he was
a waiter, made arrangements for him to sing in
Louisville at the National Fire Insurance Agent's
Banquet. A few weeks after this engagement he
was asked to sing in the missionary meeting "The
World in Boston." Here he appeared with the
Fisk Jubilee Singers, where the engagement lasted
for six weeks.

In the Fall of 1911, Mr. Henry H. Putnian. of
Boston, arranged for Mr. Hayes to begin his mus
ical training in Boston, under Maestro Arthur 1.
Hubbard, where he has continued his studies until
the present. Under the teaching of the great
Maestro Hubbard, for the last seven years, the na
turally sweet voice of Mr. Hayes has been devel
oped and straightened until now, he as an artist,
ranks among the best artists of the land. In No
vember of 1917, he made his first appearance in
the great Symphony Hall, of .Boston.

He is the first Colored Artist to have a recital in
this Hall. To quote from the Guardian we can see
how Mr. Hayes was received.

"Doff the hat to Roland W. Hayes, the singer !
He essayed the difficult and succeeded. He made
the fight and won. In size of audience, in finan
cial profit, in auditorium and in his own musical
performance Hayes scored a triumph.

"The great Symphony Hall was packed, even the
platform was filled with seats and persons stood
thick along both hall aisles. It was a mixed aud
ience with no segregation and thoroughly repres
entative of both rates, as big an audience as world-
famous white artists have there. No Colored Ar
tist ever had a recital in Symphony Hall.

"In this respect and in the talent displayed by
Mr. Hayes, as well as in the size and character of
the audience the recital made musical history for
Colored Bostonians. Mr. Hayes rendered a wide
variety of songs. After Mr. Hayes' singing Thurs
day night. Colored Boston can claim to have the
leading tenor of the day. His voice was full and
robust with a long range- It was resonant and
flexible.

Mr. Hayes has traveled over the United States
as a Concert Artist. His time has been given
wholly to the development of his voice and in ear
ning means for that purpose. He is a member of
the Baptist Church, of Boston, but has connected
himself with no other organizations. His is the life
of the true artist, one of continual application of
self for continued artistic development, for the
sake of art and for the inspiration of the members
(musical), of his race.

189

ALEXANDER HUGHES.

ORN a slave in Richmond, Virginia
January 17, 1857, growing to
manhood without even the rudi
ments of an education, Alexander
Hughes of Springfield, Massachu
setts, has won his way into the
hearts of his fellow townsmen, until he is one of
the most respected and best loved men of his sec
tion of Massachusetts. The respect of his fellow
citizens he gained through careful attention to his
work and to his business relation, paying his debts
and meeting obligations promptly, a thing that
pleases a New Englander. Their affections he won
through flowers; through growing flowers and
giving away flowers.. For three successive years
he lias won a pri/.e offered by the Springfield Re
publican for the prettiest flowers in back and front
yards. He even went further. He rented, or bor
rowed, vacant lots and planted flowers in these.
Then, when the flowers grew, he would give them
in handsome bouqets to the sick, to invalids, to the
members of old people's homes.

Mr. Hughes was nine years old when his master
returned from the war. The master gave Mr.
Hughes' father five days to leave the plantation.

The father departed, but left Mr. Hughes with one
brother and two sisters to aid the master. From
nine to twelve Mr. Hughes tended cows and did
chores about the plantation. From twelve to eight
een he worked in a tobacco factory of Richmond ;
from eighteen to twenty he drove a grocery wagon
from twenty to twenty-four he carried brick and
mortar. From twenty-four to twenty-seven, he
drove a wholesale grocery wagon in Spring
field. Then he cared for furnaces for t w o
years, and was a janitor for two years. In Oct
ober, 1888, he became shipping clerk for the Massa
chusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company.

Here he has remained, winning distinction in
many directions. In 1889 he added night catering
to his list, his patrons being of social exclusiveness ;
and won distinction and made money. He became
a member of the Springfield Chamber of Com
merce; of the St. John's Congregational Church,
also deacon, church treasurer, Sunday School teach
er and member of the Standing Committee, mem
ber of the Y. M. C. A., member of the Golden Chain
Lodge of Odd Fellows: treasurer of the Household
of Ruth; member of the Negro Civic League of the
Springfield Improvement Association ; of the Un
ion Relief Association; of the Home Guards, a war
defense organization. He is treasurer and trustee
of the Mutual Housing Company, a company which
keeps homes for colored people.

All these posts he fills with honor. Yet Mr.
Hughes began life a slave and rose to maturity il
literate. Indeed his education in books is very lim
ited. Back in 1881, when he was twenty-four years
old, he attended for a while the Springfield Night
Schools, where he learned some reading, writing
and arithmetic.

Mr. Hughes has been twice married. In 1882 he
was married to Miss Bettie A. White ; she died in
1892. The second Mrs. Hughes was Miss Pauline
Simms. Both came from Virginia, his native home.

Mr. Hughes' story has been a source of much in
spiration even in Massachusetts. The following
from New England Character, edited by Thomas
Dreier, will show how highly Mr. Hughes is es
teemed and how widely he is written of in the Old
Bay State.

"Recently I wrote for a magazine a little squib,
about Alexander Hughes of Springfield, Massachu
setts. I told how this negro, born in slavery, has
for two years won the prize offered by this city
for the best-kept lawn and garden, how it
is his habit to appropriate the vacant ground be
longing to his neighbors and plant flowers on it,
h'^w he carries flowers to the hospitals to make
brighter the days of those forced to lie in their
beds — taking especial care to provide flowers for
strangers and those who have no friends at hand,
how he works all day in the shipping de
partment of the Massachusetts Mutual, and at
nights serves as a caterer where rich folks want
service plus, how he stands as a leader in re
ligious work among his people, and how each year
he sends part of his salary to southern educational
institutions. All these things and more I told, and
what I wrote was reprinted with editorial backing
in the Springfield "Republican."

190

WILLIAM H. LEWIS, A. B., LL. B., LL. D.

N November 28, in Berkley, Vir
ginia, William Jrl. Lewis was
born. Berkley is now a part
of Norfolk. At an early age he
went to Portsmouth, Virginia,
where he was a student in the
public schools of that city. Leaving the schools
of Portsmouth he next entered the State Normal
School at Petersburg. He next matriculated at
Ainherst, from whence he was graduated in 1892.
Having decided upon the practice of law as a pro
fession he then entered the Harvard Law School
and was graduated in 1895. In 1918 Hon. Lewis
once more received a degree. This time is was the
degree of Doctor of Law and it came from Wil-
berforce University.

During his school days Mr. Lewis was noted for
his foot ball. He was one of the best centers that
they have ever had in Harvard. He was Captain
of the foot ball team of Amherst and was al,so the
Class Orator of his class. When he entered Har
vard he once more had a place with the foot ball
team, h'or two years he played on the team and
then for ten years he served as the coach for the
foot ball eleven. His knowledge of college men
and liis interest in them has extended over a
greater period of years than is given most men
in liis profession.

Having finished law at the Harvard School of

191

Law in 1895, Mr. Lewis was promptly admitted
to the practice of law in Boston. Since that time
many positions of honor have been filled by him.
He was member of the City Council, Cambridge.
Massachusetts, in 1899, 1900, 1901. He was mem
ber of Massachusetts Legislature, 1902. President
Roosevelt appointed him Assistant United States
District Attorney in 1903. He was made a member
of the Public Library Trustees of the City of Cam
bridge. From 1908 to 1909 he was the Attorney in
charge of Naturalization for the New England
States. President Taft appointed him Assistant
Attorney General of the United States in 1911.

Mr. Lewis has been fearless in standing for the
rights of the colored people of the United States.
He was invited to join the American Bar Associa
tion. Later he had an invitation to resign, but in
his characteristic manner he refused to comply
with the invitation. Mr. Lewis has had many hon
ors from the government. He has done good for
the entire race by the manner in which he has filled
the various posts that have been given him.

In religious belief Mr. Lewis is a Congregation-
alist. He has traveled extensively through the
United States and in 1912 he visited England and
France. September 26, 1896, Mr. Lewis was mar
ried to Miss Elizabeth Baker of Cambridge, Mas
sachusetts. Three children have been born to
brighten this home. Miss Dorothy Lewis is a stu
dent of Wellesley. Here Miss Lewis gives a good
account of herself among her fellows. Miss Eliza
beth Lewis is a student at High School, Cambridge,
Massachusetts, and Mr. William H. Lewis, Jr., is
also a High School student. In the point of edu
cation the young people of this family bid fair to
follow in the footsteps of their father.

Mr. Lewis has made a success of his life. In
school besides being a good student he was a good
orator and a first class athlete. Out in life he has
carried the same idea of success in everything un
dertaken. The many duties that have been show
ered upon him have been filled to his credit. In
his profession he is a good lawyer. If the case
involves some things in the medical world, Mr.
Lewis is not satisfied till he has mastered all the
knowledge on the subject. If it is a matter of
boundaries he studies equally as hard. To him the
thing desired is a complete knowledge of all the
things that touch the case even remotely, tie has
been quoted on some of his famous cases through
out the United States. Of course the fact that he
was colored was not known. But the color of his
skin could not change the facts that were gathered
in his brain. Nothing short of perfect understand
ing of the matter in hand satisfied Mr. Lewis. Be
cause of this he is one of our most prominent men.

HORACK G. McKERROW, M. D., C. M.

R. Horace G. Mackerrow, of
Worcester, Massachusetts, in
vested many years in education,
in attending various institutions
of learning. He appears to have
set over against each year and
each institution, all itemized,
some definite service to men and
to the state. He was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia,
October thirteenth, 1879. As a lad he attended the
public schools of Halifax. From 1893 to 1897 he-
was a student in Halifax Academy. The next year
1898, he spent in the Teachers' Training Class of
Dollwise College. From this institution he enrolled
in the Montreal Business College. Still forging to
the front he taught school in Halifax for two years.
Finding this none too much to his liking he came to
the "states." For a while he oscilated between the
Montreal postal service and hotel work at Atlantic
City. He spent some time also in Pullman service.
Running on the Grand Trunk Rail Road in dining
car service.

By this time he had fully made up his mind as
to the career he wished to follow. In October 1900
he enrolled in the Leonard Medical College at Shaw
University, Raleigh, North Carolina. Completing
his medical course in 1904, he entered Bishop's Uni
versity. Here he was graduated with the degree of
M. D. C. M. in 1905. Returing to Canada, he was
for six months resident house surgeon for the Wo-

192

man's Hospital. In September, 1905, he took the
medical examination in Massachusetts. Passing,
he opened office in Worcester of the same year.

It is in Worcester that he has translated all his
former experiences, all his years of study into use
ful action. Here he is a member of the John Street
Baptist Church, and superintendent of the Sunday
School. He is Past Master of Masonic Lodge of
King David. He is a member of the St. John Chap
ter of R. A. M. and Zion Commandery, K. T. C. P.,
of the Holy Shepherds Consistory, Lizra Temple
A. K. O. N. M. S., and Past Examiner of this body ;
he is Grand Commander of the Knight Templars
of Rhode Island and Massachusetts; he is Past
Grand Master of the Council of the Odd Fellows,
North Star Lodge, G. U. O. O. and P. N. F. To
his activities in the various lodges. Dr. Mackerrow
add many activities in civil and social life. He is
a member of the Executive Board of the Citizens
League of Worcester, of the Massachusetts State
Guards. 19th regiment of Worcester, of the Wor
cester Military Training School, of the Pistol and
Rife Club, of Worcester, of the Anglo-Saxon Club,
of Worcester, of the Gun and Rod Club of Cam
bridge and Boston. Not forgetting his profession
Dr. Mackerrow has allied himself to all medical
associations of his section of the country. He is a
member of the Worcester District Medical Associ
ation, of the Massachusetts Medical Association, of
the American Medical Association and of the Na
tional Association of Physicians, Doctors and Phar
macists. He has traveled extensively in the United
States and Canada.

Dr. Mackerrow comes from a substantial line of
Europeans. His father was a Canadian fur dealer,
having dealt in furs for forty three years. The pa
ternal grandfather was a Scotchman, coming from
Aberdeen, Scotland. The maternal grandfather
was of Welch origin. Both ancestors had landed
in Canada and had made themselves substantial and
loyal subjects of their Government. Their off
spring was true to their example ; for Dr. Mack
errow not only set forth to make for himself
a most enviable career, but even in his early years
in Canada, he joined the battalion of the Halifax
Academy and became before he left that institution
a major in his company. In his early years as well
as later Dr. Mackerrow has also shown himself a
substantial citizen, by owning and paying taxes on
property, both in his native country and in his
adopted land. He is a property owner in his na
tive city, Halifax, in the state of New York, and
in Worcester. More than this, by his conversation
with his patients as he goes about, he has encour
aged many to buy property, to pay taxes, to clean up
to join with all the forces of civic improvment in
making Worcester one of the best cities in the land
for colored people. To him, and this is often his
text, thorough participation with all the myrid ac
tivities of the city and of the state is the very bone
and fibre of citizenship. This explains his almost
countless membership in lodges, in civic clubs, in
recreation clubs and in various military organiza
tions.

Dr. Mackerrow was married in 1916, to Miss Ef-
fie S. Wolf of Allston, Massachusetts. Mrs. Mack
errow is the daughter of the famous James H. Wolf
G. A. R. Commander. Mr. and Mrs. Mackerrow are
parents of one child, a son, Horace Gilford Mack
errow, Jr., who is now two years old.

GEORGE BUNDY, M. D.

R. George Bundy, M. D. was born
May 4th, 1868, at Mt. Pleasant,
Jefferson County, Ohio. Like so
many people, born in Ohio , he
made his way to Michigan to
work, but this was not done until
after he had spent a number of years in the schools
and colleges of his native State. He spent the usual
years in the common schools and then went to
Widberforce University, to Wittenberg College.
Springfield, Ohio and to Payne Divinity School,
Petersburg, Virginia, and later to Detroit College
of Medicine and Surgery.

When but fifteen years of age, Dr. Bundy had
his first lesson in the Medical science under a no
ted, wealthy, white physician in Ohio. Under this
kind of physician, Dr. J. E. Finley, he got a taste of
the healing art that he could never quite get out of
his system. So we find Dr. Bundy at the age of
forty-four, graduating from the full medical course
in the Detroit College of Medicine and Surgery.
He graduated with honors in a class of fifty and he
had the distinction of being the only colored man
in his class. Since graduating from the medical
college, he has enjoyed a very lucrative practice in
the city of Detroit.

During the years, between college days and
the taking up of medicine, Dr. Bundy spent
in church work. He was first ordained for
the ministry in the A. M. E. Church. He after
wards studied for the Priesthood of the Protes
tant Episcopal Church. He was made priest in St.
Paul's Cathedral, Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1900. He was
recommended by the Episcopal Church for chap
laincy in the United States Army, and was receiv
ed by President Roosevelt at Washington concern
ing the appointment. He was offered the Arch dea-
conry of Colored Work in Diocease of Lexington,
Kentucky, but the study of medicine that he had
done when a lad could never be really forgotten,
and so although rather late for one to change pro
fessions, Dr. Bundy entered the medical college,
and gave up the ministry.

In the residence district of Detroit, Dr. Bundy
has a home worth $5,500.00 this as a showing for
the savings during the years of his practice of med
icine. Presiding over this beautiful home is Mrs.
Bundy, who was Miss Evelyn Tardif, of Columbia,
South Carolina. They were married April 26th,
1905, in Springfield, Ohio. Mrs. Bundy has been
to Dr. Bundy a great help in carrying out his am
bition to become a physician. In it all and through
it all, she has been an inspiration. Now she helps
make life pleasant for their many friends at their
home.

It is difficult to estimate the value of a good
wife who enters sympathetically and actively into
the plans of her husband and helps him bear the
burdens when heavy and rejoice with him when
success crowns his efforts.

Dr. Bundy has, along with all other whole heart
ed Americans, done his part in helping win this
world war. Besides contributing freely of his
means in the cause of the various charities, the
Red Cross, Y. M. C. A., and other relief funds, he
served for six months on the Draft Board for the
United States Army.

Dr. Bundy has become a part of the community
life there in Detroit. He is still active in the church
of his profession and through the church he is able
to reach many. He is a member of the Paul Law
rence Dunbar Memorial and Scholarship Fund, as
he was a personal friend of Mr. Dunbar. Through
this organization he has helped not only in honor
ing the most noted of our Negro poets, but in aiding
many students.

Dr. Bundy should be a source of inspiration to
the many men who are now engaged in work that
is not altogether to their liking. Reading of his
success when he had the courage to give up a work
in which he had made good, but which could never
have his whole heart, one should take courage and
try, even if late in life, for the one thing that is his
heart's ambition.

193

KENTUCKY PYTHIAN TEMPLE BUILDING— LOUIS
VILLE, KENTUCKY— AND THE MEN LARGELY
RESPONSIBLE FOR ITS ERECTION.

Kentucky Pythian Temple

HE Kentucky Pythian Temple is
the outgrowth and an outward
expression of a deep seated idea
which had taken a strong hold of
the Pythians of Kentucky and

which was born of the conviction

that fraternal organizations could and should make
wider use of their strength and authority. Once
the idea had been presented to the Pythian Grand
lodge, jurisdiction of Kentucky, it would not down
but session after session it was kept to the front
until the idea took concrete form. A number of
prominent knights championed it and fought for
it until the temple was built. Sir Knight, J. L. V.
Washington raised his voice in its behalf and Sir
Knight, J. H. Garvin, at Mt. Sterling, fanned the
coals into a blazing fire by a beautiful, eloquent
and practical speech which he delivered. The
movement took form in the appointment of a
commission whose duty was to formulate and sub
mit a plan for securing the building. It was sty
led the "Kentucky Pythian Temple Commission.
Sir Knight, H. Francis Jones, was made President
of the commission. He was a man of fine parts,
of propelling energy and unselfishly devoted to the
task assigned him. Under the leadership of Sir
Knight Jones, the commission set to work and
after a season of patient toil they worked out a
plan which made their dream of a temple a living
led the "Kentucky Pythian Temple Commission."
was presented to the Grand Lodge at its meeting
at Winchester. It so happened that the Supreme
Chancellor, Sir Knight S. W. Starks, visited the
Kentucky jurisdiction at this session of the Grand
Lodge and was present when the plan was sub
mitted. He was first impressed with the enthu
siasm with which the plan was received, but after
a careful consideration of it he caught the fever
himself, and returned to his home in Charleston,
West Virginia, a strong convert to the plan and
fired by the Kentucky spirit. He procured a copy
of the plans and immediately started a similar
movement in his home jurisdiction and within a
year had organized his forces and erected the first
Pythian Temple of the colored race. The temple
idea carried with it not accommodations for the
lodge alone, but suitable quarters for the colored
men to carry on their business enterprises. Fra
ternity is the spirit of the order and its policy is
to encourage the negro to make the best of his ta
lents and opportunities and in the erection of their
temple this idea was kept in mind. So much for
the spirit which gave vision to the enterprise and

195

inspired the erection of the temple. Now for a
description of it :

It is a beautiful seven-story structure, built of
reinforced concrete and brick crowned with a roof
garden. It is situated in the heart of a Negro set
tlement — the gateway of the Metropolis of the
South. The building contains five business rooms ;
a theatre, operated by a colored man ; twelve offi
ces ; fifty-two sleeping apartments, and a commo
dious amusement hall, 40x97 feet — which cares for
the needs of a pleasure-seeking public. Besides
these it has a kitchen, dining room, pool room,
barber shop, buffet and cabaret. It is lighted with
electricity and is steam heated, has elevator ser
vice, and has bath arrangements for the use of ten
ants. The building cost approximately $150,000.00.
This sketch could not be properly closed without
mentioning a few of the men who have brought
the enterprise to a successful issue.

Sir Knight Jones and Grand Chancellor Garvin
and their assistants have been the moving spirits
but they have been ably assisted by the following
Knights: J. H. Garvin, J. L. V. Washington, W.
W. Wilson, Rev. J. M. Mundy, B. E. Smith, S. H.
George, M D., F. C. Dillon, W. H. Wright, Attor^
ney, J. A. C. Lattimore, M. D. French Thompson.
Directors and Van J. Davis, M. D., G. G. Young,
T. T. Wendell, M. D., Owen Robinson. Dr. E. E.
Underwood, M. D., William and John B. Caulder,
Grand Lodge Officers.

The vision inspired these men and held them
to their task was not. as has been stated, simply
a Pythian Temple, although that in itself was a
strong incentive, but a wider outlook which took
in the interests of their race in all departments of
their life. In addition to the accommodations pro
vided for the business enterprises of their people
and for their social pleasures, they kept in mind
possibilities not yet developed. Among the things
they hope for at an early date is a Negro bank, to
stimulate their people to lives of thrift and to en
courage them to buy their homes. Another, being
the establishment of a Negro newspaper, whose
aim and purpose will be to influence their people
to higher ideals of living and to inform the world
of the progress being made by the Negro race.
When this portion of their dream is realized the
mission of the Pythian Temple will very nearly
have filled its place.

Thus a building has been erected in which the
Colored Pythians take a commendable pride, and
which forms a center of influence for the colored
race which will work for their good for many years
to come.

ALBERT H. JOHNSON, M. D.

LBERT H. Johnson, is a Can
adian by birth. He was born
in Windsor, Ontario, June 23,
1870. His early schooling was
had in the public school system of
Canada. After leaving Canada,
the young man attended school in Detroit, Michi
gan. From the Detroit High School he was grad
uated in 1889. From the Detroit High School he
entered the Detroit College of medicine and sur
gery, and was graduated with the degree of M. D.
in 1893.

This recital of the school training gotten by Dr.
Johnson seems simple enough, and so it is for the
young man with ample means for support. But
this was not the fact in the case of Dr. Johnson. In
order to get his education he had to work his way.
He started his career as a newsboy. In this he
had the usual life of the newsboy. He learned to
give and take, he learned human nature as only a
newsboy or one in a similar line can learn it. From
newsboy he next became a news agent. In this oc
cupation he continued throughout his High School
career. Dr. Johnson made the sale of news items
purchase for him, in a large measure his life work.

196

After receiving his M. D. from the Detroit Col
lege of Medicine and Surgery Dr. Johnson hung
out his shingle in the City of Detroit. At first he
took up the general practice of medicine; but in
19C9 he was appointed Medical Inspector for
schools. This caused the interest of Dr. Johnson
to center on children and their ailments. For the
past ten years he has given most of his time to the
study and practice of this branch of his work. This
is a field that is wide and is not as yet overcrowd
ed. In this line Dr. Johnson has made a marked
success.

The subject of this sketch is also a member of
the firm of W. E. & A. H. Johnson, Pharmacists.
This firm is doing a very good retail drug business.
They own the building in which the business is
housed and get a good trade. To this business ven
ture as to his practice, Dr. Johnson has applied
himself and made good. The wealth of experience
that falls to the lot of the physician doing a good
practice is enjoyed by the subject of this sketch.

Dr. Johnson has taken a part in the life of the
city of his choice. He is a member of the St. Mat
thews Protestant Episcopal Church. Of this Church
he is vestryman and Senior Warden. He is a mem
ber of the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows and
of the Masonic Order. Dr. Johnson also serves as
trustee and physician to the Phillis Wheatley
Home for Aged Women of Detroit, Michigan. The
positions held by him show the breadth of the in
terest of Dr. Johnson. He is very active in the
National Association for the Advancement of Col
ored People. Of this organization he is the treas
urer of the Detroit Branch. He is a member of the
Executive Committee of the Detroit League on
Urban Conditions among Negroes. Dr. Johnson
also has the honor of having served as the first
president of the Allied Medical Association, an or
ganization consisting of doctors, dentists, pharma
cists of the city of Detroit.

During the years he has been out of school, Dr.
Johnson has saved his money and invested it wis
ely. He owns besides half interest in the drug
business and its business block mentioned earlier
in this sketch, a six family apartment house and a
two family apartment house. The home in which
his own family lives is also his property.

For business and for pleasure Dr. Johnson has
traveled extensively in the United States and in
Canada, lie was married to Miss Lucile Russell,
of Oberlin, Ohio, September 26th, 1900. Dr. and
Mrs. Johnson are the proud parents of one beauti
ful young daughter, Phyllis Mary Johnson. Little
Miss Johnson is ten years of age and is devoting
her time time to the duties and pleasures of child
hood.

EDWARD WATSON

DWARD Watson, was born July
31. 1890, in Detroit, Michigan. He
was educated in thejniblic schools
of his native city. . Mr. Watson's
father died before he had
an opportunity for college work
and he had to leave school in order to help his mo
ther with the business. At the time of his death
his step-father was engaged in the undertaking
business, which his mother decided to continue
and undertook its management. This she found
difficult to do without the aid of her son, but with
his assistance the business was continued with
great success. He managed the business jointly
with his mother until he reached the age of twenty-
four, when he took sole charge of it and ran it suc
cessfully for one year. At the end of that period,
Mr. Watson joined Mr. Gabriel Davis, as a partner
in the undertaking business. The firm is known as
Davis and Watson. Together they have done a
prosperous business and have very good prospects
for the future.

Mr. Watson is an active member of the St.
Matthews Episcopal Church. For seven years he
served as Altar and C'ross Bearer. He is a mem
ber of the Masonic Hiram, Lodge No. 1. He has
been a member of the lodge for eight years.

Mr. Watson is not married and has only twenty-
eight years behind him. For one so young he is
doing an enviable business.

GABRIEL DAVIS

Gabriel Davis was born in Uniontown, Kentucky.
May 22, 1872. He lived on a farm till thirteen
years of age when his parents moved to Detroit,
Michigan. He worked for his father till 1887, and
then he entered the employ of the Detroit Street
Railway. He worked with this company till 1897,
and then took up the duties of motorman, till 1912.

It was in the year 1912, that Mr. Davis decided
to start in business for himself. He chose for this
the Undertaking Business and has remained true
to the business of his choice. From the time he
established his business he has made it earn for
him a good living. By combining with the Under
taking business of Edward Watson a joint interest
of decided proportions and lucrative nature was es
tablished. He owns his place of business and three
other pieces of property.

In religious belief, Mr. Davis is a Baptist. He
is liberal when it comes to the support of his de
nomination and he also gives freely of his time in
the interest of the work of the church. He is a
member of the Masonic Lodge, and the Flks. Mr.
Davis has lived in Kentucky, the State of his birth,
in Ontario, the State in which he got his education,
and in Michigan, the State in which he has become
a successful business man.

It is his success in business that earns for Mr.
Davis mention in these pages. In education he
was able to go only through the Grammar school.
But he is one of the many who demonstrate the fact
that business ability is not dependant wholly on
education, in the regular school courses.

197

WILLIAM PAUL KEMP

ATE in life some men find their
talent, some in middle age, and a
few glide into their life work,
almost unconsciously, in their
youth. Thus its was with Will
iam Paul Kemp. He was a born
editor, and he commenced his, career as a writer at
the early age of seventeen years.

Mr. Kemp was born in Plattsmouth, Nebraska,
March 13th., 1881, but moved to Lincoln, Nebraska
when a child and there received his early educa
tional training. He attended the Public schools of
Lincoln, and for two years studied in the High
school. He also attended the University of Neb-
braska School of Music, and the night school of
the Young Men's Christian Association.

At the age of seventeen, he left school to take a
position on Omaha Bee (White) as assistant
Capital correspondent. This was in 1898. From
the money saved during his connection with this
paper he purchased and established, April 29th,
1899, The Lincoln Leader. He gave up this enter
prise for a time to become assistant correspondent
for the Nebraska State Journal (White), at Wash
ington, D. C, but returned to Lincoln the latter

part of 1900, where he resumed the publication of
the Lincoln Leader. While engaged in this work
he became active in politics, affiliating with the Re
publican party. For six campaigns he was connec
ted with the Nebraska Republican State Central
Committee, rising from messenger to manager of
the Literature Department.

October 8th., 1907, he moved to Detroit, Michi
gan, and December 7th, of the same year, he start
ed the Detroit Leader. It had a short life and
passed out February 13th., 1908. He entered the
Mayor's office as clerk after the failure of his pa
per, and while still holding his position as clerk, he
started in January, 1909, the present Detroit Lead
er. November 1st., 1909, he resigned his position
in the Mayor's office and devoted his entire time
to his business venture.

He purchased the Owl Printing Co. plant
August 13th., 1912, which he consolidated with the
Howitt Printing Co., September 26th, 1913, con
ducting all under the name of The Detroit Leader,
of which he is the sole owner.

In addition to his literary attainments Mr. Kemp
is an accomplished musician and vocalist, he is also
an athlete. For the season of 1902 he coached the
Lincoln Business College Football team. He is a
member of St. Mathew's Episcopal church, De
troit, and five times has been a delegate to the Dio
cesan Convention. He is Past Master in Masonic
Lodge and Ex-Officer of Masonic Grand Lodge,
which position he held from 1905 to 1907; Past
Grand Master Council of G. U. O. O. F., Grand Di
rector of Michigan D. G. L., Delegate to 1918 B.
M. C; Elk; Deputy Supreme Chancellor of Knights
of Pythias of Michigan and Western Canada 1917-
1918; Major in Uniform Rank Knights of Pythias
At the age of nineteen years he was President of
Abraham Lincoln Political Club. He was First
Vice-President of the Republican League Clubs
(White) of Nebraska; only Colored member of
Delegation from Michigan to First Good Road
Convention of United States. He was a Director
of Kemp Military Band of Lincoln Nebraska, and
Palestine Commandry Band, of Windsor, Ontario.
He polled the largest vote of any colored man ever
received in Detroit, when a candidate for Board of
Estimators. He was President of the District
Business League ; President Soldier's Welfare Lea
gue of Detroit ; Chairman of Publicity, N. A. A. C.
P., of Detroit ; First Chairman of Detroit Urban
League ; Chairman of Negro Committee to coope
rate with National League of Women's service.
These are but a few of the honors conferred upon
him. To mention all would make this sketch too
lengthy for the space alloted to it.

Mr. Kemp was married December 24th, 1900, to
Miss Mary Delia Elder. They have no children.

198

REVEREND AUGER AUGUSTUS COSEY

EV. A. A. Cosey, born in Newellton
County, Louisiana, July 2nd, 187d
has spent a long and useful ca-
reer as pastor on the one hand
u DL(\^?^ al1^ as ')U"'der an<l promoter on
the other. His early days were
spent on the farm engaged in performing such
tasks as one of his age was capable of performing
and attending school, when such was possible.

When he was sixteen years of age, Rev. Cosey
leaving both the farm and his native state, en
rolled in Natchez College, Natchez, Mississippi.
Following the example of the vast majority who
sought education in the nineties Rev. Cosey, as the
phrase goes, had to work his way. Happily he had
so well mastered his subjects that he could teach.
Thus he spent his summer vacations in the school
room earning money to return to his college. Fin
ishing the Natchez College Academic course in 1896
he again went out to teach, teaching for six years
in the State of Mssissippi before engaging exclus
ively in his chosen profession. While attending
Natchez College, Rev. Cosey devoted much time to
the study of Theology, having decided long before
to enter the Baptist ministry. In 1896, the year of
his graduation, he was ordained and united his

work as school teacher and minister. One year af
ter ordination, he was chosen pastor of the Metro
politan Baptist Church, Clarksdale, Mississippi, a
post he filled until 1905. He held pastorates also at
Greenville and at Shelby. For the last ten years,
Rev. Cosey has been pastor of the Green Grove
Baptist Church, at Mound Bayou, the famous Ne
gro town, where he has not only been perfoming
duties as pastor, but has been lending a hand in
many ways to the growth and development of the
town.

From the beginnig of his career Rev. Cosey
proved to be an organizer and a builder as well as a
pastor. He was really the organizer of the Metro
politan Church at Clarksdale, the Church in which
he first preached as pastor. His pastorate of the
First Baptist Church of Mound Bayou over which
he still presides took on again the form of builder.
This church he also started, giving it all the mod
ern equipment, for Sunday School, social uplift and
communty work. Twelve thousand dollars have
already been put into this building, having four
thousand more to be raised.

As a church man and as a man of affairs, Rev.
Cosey has been a leader not only in Mound Bayou
but in Mississippi for many years. He has been
Corresponding Secretary of the General Misionary
Baptist Convention of the state, has been for many
years one of the leaders of the National Baptist
Convention and served for a number of years as
the Corresponding Secretary of the National Bap
tist Association.

Powerful as well as useful in the church, Rev.
Cosey is also a conspicuous leader in fraternal or
ders. He is a Mason, a Knight of Pythias and a
Knight of Tabor. He is International Chief Grand
Orator of the Knights of Tabor and special enlist
ment Master for Mississippi.

When the people of Mound Bayou organized a
bank, he became vice-president and stock holder.
He took an active part in organizing and promot
ing the Mound Bayou Oil Mill Enterprise and lent
his influence to the establishment of schools and
small businesses throughout the town.

He owns a splendid two-story residence in
Mound Bayou and seven rent houses, six lots and
forty acres of delta farm land.

Rev. Cosey was married in 1901 to Miss Ida Hope
Carter, of Helena, Arkansas. Mrs. Cosey is a grad
uate of A. & M. College, Normal, Ala. She was
for years a teacher both in Alabama and in Arkan
sas. Throughout Rev. Cosey's work, she has been
the power behind the throne. Both in company
with Mrs. Cosey and on behalf of his church and
fraternities, Rev. Cosey has traveled over the
whole of the United States.

199

CHARLES PRICE JONES, D. D.

ORN in Rome, Georgia, educated
in the public schools of his na
tive state and in Arkansas Baptist
College, Dr. Charles Price Jones
is celebrated as a writer of hymns
and as a. founder of a religion
But he disclaims the latter title. He claims only to
give emphasis to an old neglected doctrine. He
was converted in 1884, and baptized in 1885 by Rev.
J. D. Petty. Two years later he was licensed to
preach, and in 1888 was ordained by Rev. Chas. L.
Fisher However, he felt that a higher literary
training was essential to one who has visions of a
useful career in the church. It was with this in
view that he entered Arkansas Baptist College, and
was graduated from the academic Department in
1891.

Dr. Jones began to ponder more deeply the words
of the scripture. To him all things seemed possible
in Christ. He began to take the Bible literally.
Hence arose his belief in holiness. He says, "I pas-
tored in Arkansas until 1892. During this time I
was corresponding secretary of the convention, a
trustee of the Arkansas Baptist College and editor
of the Baptist Vangard.

In 1892 I accepted a call fro mBethlehem Church,

Searcy, Arkansas, where I had pastored 18 months,
to the Tabernacle Baptist Church, Selma, Alabama.
Here I was called after a time, to the life and
ministry of holiness, but had no idea that it would
result in a disruption with the Baptists ; for I be
lieved that the more faithful a man was to Christ
in his daily living the more he would and ought to
be prized by the people of God. But I was mistak
en. Yet I, myself was partly to blame. Like all
who get an important vision, I was extreme in my
views and endeavors. I understood it to mean,
the standing of every believer in Christ in the pres
ence of God. 2nd, the condition of heart that the
Holy Ghost imparts to make us delight in God's
will, the daily effort of the believer's faith to con
form to that will; the inevitable result of living in
Christ by faith. Indeed, I merely conceived it to be
a trust in God that obtained grace to walk before
Him in all pleasing, trusting the blood of Christ
to deal with the sin of our nature. I do not teach the
impossibility of our sinning, but the necessity of
having grace to live Godly, that "the wages of sin
is death," — (Romans).

"In Feberuary, 1895, I accepted a call to Mount
Helm Baptist Church, Jackson, Miss. In 1897 I
called the first Holiness Convention to meet at
Jackson, June 6th and study the Bible two weeks.
There were present at this convention such men
as Dr. J. A. Jeter of Little Rock, Arkansas, Pastor
W. S. Pleasant, of Hazelhurst, Miss., and many
others.

"In 1898 the convention was more largely at
tended and the opposition had gathered power ; and
in 1898 at the convention at Winona steps were tak
en to fight our extreme attitude, then we built the
present commodious building. We have a school at
Jackson incorporated as Christ's Missionary and
Industrial College. Through the efforts of Elders
W. S. Pleasant, J. A. Jeter, L. W. Lee, Thomas
Sanders, F. S. Sheriff, G. H. Punches, Deacon Hen
ry Moore, Clarke Kendricks and others, this work
was established. It has carried in prosperous years
200 students and 12 instructors. It has turned a
number of graduates from the 12th grade who are
making good. The value of the property (encum
bered) is $15,000."

He was for twenty-one years editor of the
"Truth." He is author of several hymn books,
which are used widely by ministers and members
of both races. In 1915 Arkansas Baptist College
conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Divin
ity. However, in his own words, "I attended strict
ly to my own business, no time for worldly honors."

He was married in 1892 to Miss Fannie A. Brown
of Little Rock, Arkansas. Mrs. Jones died in 1916.
Their one child is also deceased.

He is now pastor of Christ Tabernacle, a new
church at Los Angeles, Calif., and is General Over
seer of the Holiness work. Jan. 4, 1918, he was
married to Miss Pearl Reed of that city.

The school at Jackson is now under the Presi
dency of Dr. J. L. Conic.

2CO

EPHRIAM H. McKISSACK. A. B., A. M.

OR many years Kphriam H. Mc-
Kissack has been a leader in the
state of Mississippi. This lead-
ershiu has radiated in many direc
tions. It first asserted itself in his
work as a school man. Well edu
cated and possessing an easy adaptation he soon
became a leader in business, in politics, in church
and secret orders.

Professor McKissack was born in Memphis, Ten
nessee, November 22, 1860. His parents were
William and Katie Mitchell, both of whom died
when he was four years old. The young lad was
adopted and reared by his aunt, Fannie McKissack,
from whom he took his name.

As an adopted son he fared well in the home of
his aunt. He had ample care, was provided gen
erously with clothing, books, indeed everything to
encourage him to achieve. To all this he readily
responded.. After attending the public schools he
entered Rust University. From this institution he
gained the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Master
of Arts; the former in 1895, the latter in 1898.

Long before he completed his course Professor
McKissack had become active in the affairs of his

state. He had joined the Methodist Church and
had become one of its leading directors and work
ers. He was a trustee, a steward and a Sunday
School teacher in Asbury Church ; was a member
of the upper Mississippi Conference and president
of the Conference Board of Church Extensions. In
1896 he was a member of the Church General Con
ference, then again in 1900-1904, 1908-1912-1916.
He served one year, the year following his at
tainment of Master of Arts, as principal of the
Holly Springs City Schools. Then his alma mater
called him to a chair within her walls. From 1890
to 1911 he was a member of the Rust University
faculty. In 1911 he resigned his post in Rust and
became manager of the Union Guaranty and In
surance Company of Holly Springs.

His departure from the schoolroom did not sever
his connections with the school, it did signal how
ever, a wider activity in his business and in other
practical matters. He entered politics and became
an active and aggressive Republican; so effective
was his work that he was made chairman of the
seventh Congressional District of his State, and in
1908-1912, he was made delegate to the Republican
National Convention. For twenty years Professor
McKissack has been secretary and treasurer of the
Odd Fellows Benefit Association. He has so care
fully handled his accounts and adjusted claims that
little friction has ever arisen, a thing rare indeed
in any sort of benefit or insurance organization

I romment in the Odd Fellows Association he is a
conspicuous worker in practically all Negro lodges,
in the state of Mississippi, a state thoroughly in
fested with secret orders. He is a Mason, a Knight
of Pythias, a member of the United Sons and
Daughters of Jacob, of the Fastern Star, of the Im-
maculates, of the Reformers. He is still, as in form
er days, a pillar in the church and in the school. He
keeps up his connection with conferences and with
the Sunday School and has added to those his mem
bership in the Federated Commission of Colored
Churches. Although he has long since left the
school room he still keeps in close touch with the
schools of the State, with the schools in the city,
and of course with every twist and turn of the af-
Rust University. In Rust he has reached a most
honored post, he has not only been elected a mem-
be of the Board of Trustees, he is vice-president of
the Board of Trustees. Professor McKissack has
done what to some seems the incredible thing. He
has the refusal of the presidency of the institution,
He had served Rust as head of the Commercial de
partment, as professor of mathematics, professor
of natural science and as secretary of the faculty,
when, therefore, Rust needed a president in 1909,
the office was tendered Professor McKissack but
he declined, preferring business and a more general
public career.

Professor McKissack was married to Miss Mary
A. Fxtim of Yazoo City. Mr. and Mrs. McKissack
have one son. Dr. Autrey C. McKissack, M. D. who
is a successful physician of Memphis, Tennessee:
Professor and Mrs. McKissack live in their own
home in Holly Springs, a residence second to but
few in the town.

201

WILLIAM CLAUD GORDON

OMETIME ago, a business census
of St. Louis, Missiouri, revealed
the fact that Mr. W. C. Gordon, a
colored undertaker of that city,
had handled the largest number
of bodies of any undertaker, re
gardless of color, in the city of St. Louis. For this
remarkable fact, those who knew him well account
ed in several ways ; first, they say that he is a good
man, and they give great stress to this first point ;
then the}' say he is fair in his business dealings,
especially in his dealings with the widows and or
phans ; and the third point on which they lay stress
in that his equipment and his headquarters are such
as to make any customer proud to employ his ser
vices.

Risen from poverty to that envious stage of com
petence, if not wealth, Mr. Gordon has kept an op
en hand for aspiring young men and women, and
has maintained a ready sheckle for church, orphan
age, school — indeed he has been ready and willing
to help all worthy undertakings for the advance
ment of the colored people.

Unlike many who have climbed successfully, he
did not kick the ladder down, once he gained the
ascent but remembering his own early struggles he

has been always ready to help another over the
first rough stretch. Mr. Gordon was born in Colum
bia, Tennessee, March 15, 1862. From this date,
we can gather that Mr. Gordon as a very small
lad saw a little of the last bitter days of slavery
and all of the struggles for freedom and readjust
ment. There is therefore nothing surprising in the
fact that the young man had no opportunity to de
velop his mind in the school room. While still a
young man, Mr. Gordon went to St. Louis. Here
he found himself in a very unfortunate position —
he was without means, without education and with
out friends. To earn a living for himself he first
entered the employ of the Pullman service, where
for several years he served as a porter. But Mr.
Gordon was an ambitious man, and so was not sat
isfied with being a porter for life. When he had
saved a small sum of money, he quit the service and
went into the undertaking business for himself.
His first business was on a very small scale, and as
a venture it was feeble, very feeble. But putting
all his mind and thought on his work, it began to
develop and Mr. Gordon himself, was among those
who was surprised at the very great rapidity of the
growth of the venture. From his very feeble be
ginning his business has developed until today his
is among the best equipped and largest firms of
Negro undertakers. Indeed west of the Mississippi,
he is one of the leading men in the undertaking
business, regardless of race. He gives regular em
ployment to eight persons.

His natural habit of saving did not leave him,
when he began to make money in larger sums, and
so after a time, Mr. Gordon had enough money
saved to invest in some other line of work. Cast
ing about for a profitable investment for this sur
plus, and investment which would be yielded fair
interest and at the same time give employment to
a large number of colored people Mr. Gordon open
ed a steam laundry. This he has been running for
the last seven years, The laundry is equipped with
all modern appliances, washers, mangles, driers,
and the like. In St. Louis it is well known and
is liberally patronized for its prompt and efficient
work. In the operation of this laundry with its
great number of patrons, Mr. Gordon employs
thirty-five persons. This entails -a. payroll of
$335.00 per week.

A conservative valuation of the two businesses
is placed at $30,000.00. Besides this, Mr. Gordon
owns his home, much real estate and has interest
in motor hacks and vehicles. In all Mr. Gordon is
worth about $70.000.00 Mr. Gordon is a member
of the National Negro Business Men's League, an
organization in which he has taken a great deal of
interest. In his religious belief he is African Me
thodist Episcopal. He is an active member of the
St. Paul Church, of St. Louis.

In 1908, Mr. Gordon was married to Miss Mary
Hunton, of Detroit, Michigan. Two little children
have come to help make the home of the Gordon's
a happy one. They are Charity, age six years, and
Claud, age eight. The two little pupils are in the
public school of St. Louis.

202

JOHN EDWARD PERRY, M. D.

R. J. Edward Perry, of Kansas
City, Missiouri, born in Clarks-
ville, Texas, Red River- County,
April 2nd, 1870. His parents were
ex-slaves and refugeed from Mis
souri and Arkansas. They were
remarkable characters, noted for their integrity,
industry, courtesy, generosity and honesty. Their
ambition was to provide a home for their children
and educate them. Johnny had no opportunity to
go to school until he was nine years of age. He
was then sent to a log cabin, which was on a small
plot of ground given by his father.

His early days were spent in the cotton fields of
Texas, going to school about three months in a
year until he was over thirteen years of age. When
he entered Bishop College he earned a greater por
tion of his expenses by doing daily services for the
teachers of the schools. This service consisted of
duties such as — milking the cows, scrubbing floors,
cutting wood, and building fires. He then taught a
country school from 1891 until 1894, making and
saving sufficient funds to graduate from Meharry
Medical College, in 1895, and began his practice
February 15, 1895, and made a competency from
the first week of his practice. This was begun in

203

Mexico, Missouri, where he remained six months,
then moved to Columbia, Missouri where the great
University of the State of Missouri is located. Giv
ing up practice in 1898, he served his Country as
1st Lieutenant in 7th U. S. Vol. Infantry. After
the close of the war he returned to Columbia, re
suming his practice.

By his suave nature, genial disposition and effec
tive work, he pushed his way into the State Hos
pital at Columbia, Missouri, where he enjoyed the
professional association of the best talent that
money of this State would employ. There is as
much prejudice in Missouri, as in any other South
ern State, and when those in authority were brought
to task about the consideration given Dr. Perry
they denied the fact that he was a Negro though
he is extremely dark and no one would ever think
of calling him even a mulatto.

He has spent considerable time working for pro
fessional uplift, built a private Hospital in 1910,
loaned the hospital to the community three years
later, and through that medium created sentiment
sufficient to raise quite an ample sum for the erec
tion of an Institution for the people. He has work
ed in the Y. M. C. A., was its first president of this
city and he works in every avenue for racial uplift.
He has been interested in a number of business
enterprises, always trying to provide a place for
young men and women. He is Secretary and
Treasurer of the S. P. L. Mercantile and Invest
ment Company, a firm growing out of the People's
Drug Store, a very successful enterprise.

He married Miss Fredericka D. Sprague, July 3,
1912. Mrs. Perry is the granddaughter of Frede
rick Douglass.

Dr. Perry is considered the leading colored phy
sician in Kansas City, both as a practititioneer and
as a surgeon. In these later years he has given
most of his time to surgery, both in connection
with the General Hospital and his private Sanita
rium. As evidence of his skill in surgery, he is
frequently called to operate, as far south as Texas
and to various points in Missouri, including St.
Louis. He is regarded the leading Negro surgeon
west of Chicago. After Dr. Perry had practiced a
few years, he sought further preparation speciali
zing in surgery by attending the Post Graduate
Hospital of Chicago, Illinois.

As a physician, Dr. Perry is progressive. In all
matters he is conservative and especially frank. He
can be depended upon at all times to be fair in deal
ings with his patients, both in information and
treatment and in his business dealings with them.
The new hospital which has just been acquired bv
the colored people of Kansas City is largely the
result of Dr. Perry's untiring labors and is indeed
a fitting reward for his unselfish devotion to the
people of Kansas City.

ANDERSON RUSSELL

R. Anderson Russell was born in
Smith County, Mississippi, April
1st., 1864, and died in St. Louis
Missouri, September 2nd., 1917,
after spending- a useful and suc
cessful life. His education was
confined to the Rural Schools of
his neighborhood, which were
greatly inferior to such schools of the present day,
which even now are far from being what they
should be.

If the schools failed to give him a high standard
of learning they still served him a good turn for
his contact with books set his active mind to work
and caused him to form the habit of thinking clear-
ly.

When he was twenty years of age his parents
left Mississippi, and moved to Alton, Illinois.

In his new home he entered the service of a num
ber of private families. Here he labored until 1890,
when he left Alton, and went to St. Louis, to enter
the service of the Pullman Palace Car Co. His con
nection with this company continued for four years
At the end of this term he had saved sufficient
funds from his wages to enter a business of his
own.

He formed a co-partnership under the firm name
of Russell and Gordon, and conducted an undertak
ing business. They remained together and did
business under the original firm name until in
1902, when they separated and each opened a busi
ness of his own.

Mr. Russell's business continued to prosper and
he soon was enabled to take from the business
funds to purchase real estate. His investments
were wisely chosen and became a source of reve-

204

nue to him- He purchased the building in which
his business was located and adjusted it to meet
his wants. He also purchased a double flat and
four rent houses.

Mr. Russell was a religious man, and took an
active part in the work of the church. He was a
member of the Union Memorial Church, which he
joined in 1908.

At the time of his death he was serving as a
member of the Board of Trustees of the church.

Mr. Russell's business brought him into inti
mate contact with the home life of many families
and he soon formed the habit of thinking and plan
ning for their betterment. He saw the value of
many of the societies organized for their benefit
and became actively identified with them. He
might be termed a Society man for his name was
on the roster of most of them.

He was a member of the Masons, Knights of
Pythias, Odd Fellows, and United Brothers of
Friendship.

His service in the Pullman Palace Car Company
gave him the opportunity for travel and enabled
him to visit all parts of the United States and parts
of Mexico.

He met his life companion, Miss Priscilla Prim-
gle, in St. Louis, where he was married to her June
28, 1906. Although their married life was without
issue it was thoroughly congenial and happy.

Mr. Russell's health began to fail him in 1916,
and he soon got too ill to give attention to his busi
ness. He grew weaker continuously and was
never again able to look after his affairs, lie lin
gered until September 2nd, 1917, when he passed
into the other State.

The business which he had so carefully built up
and to which he had given so much of his time and
thought did not die with him. It was incorporated
into a company, known as the "A. Russell Under
taking Company. Incorporated." His sister, An
nie K. Russell, was elected President of the Com
pany, and carries on the business along the same
business principles employed by her brother, work
ing out the plans outlined by him.

Under the new management the business still
continues to prosper.

HOME OF A. RUSSELL UNDERTAKING CO.

CHARLES HYMEN TURPIN

JrlARLES Hymen Turpin, is a suc
cessful business man of St. Louis,
Missouri. Mr. Turpin belongs to
the class of men who do things.
He is a man who will meet an op
portunity squarely and use it ad
vantageously. He has a natural ability, is indus
trious and persistent. He is practical and never en
ters a project without first weighing that keen
competition which always besets every venture
worth while. He is not the type of man who will
shrink from the arrows of opposition, but is spur
red on by them to the accomplishment of his aims.
Once started, his resolute determination and in
domitable courage, backed by explicit confidence
in himself, visually carries him through all difficul
ties to the goal of his ambitions.

That these qualities are natural, is best illustrat
ed by a few incidents in his boyhood life. At the
age of ten, when he was a boot-black, he attempt
ed to organize a union, in order to raise the price
of "shines". Failing to interest the other boys, he
aggressively declared the "Union" in effect with
himself as the only member, and elected him
self president, secretary and treasurer, raised the
price of "shines" and proceeded to monopolize the

205

industry to the detriment of his faint-hearted com
petitors. One day at the old St. Louis Fairgrounds,
he noticed that the paddock was not being used.
He immediately appo